Building Community, One Connection at a Time
Inside the MODEL Program’s Second Year
July 31, 2025 – by Rebecca Handler
In academic medicine, mentorship often happens behind closed doors — unstructured, unofficial, and sometimes uneven. It can depend entirely on luck: who you happen to meet, whether your division prioritizes mentorship, or whether someone informally takes you under their wing. A patchwork approach can lead new faculty members to feel isolated and unsure of how best to grow. But the MODEL Program at Stanford’s Department of Medicine is changing all that.
Now in its second year, the MODEL Program, short for “Mentorship | Opportunity | Development | Empathy | Leadership,” is bringing that vision to life in tangible, lasting ways. As shared by co-founder Kavitha Ramchandran, MD, “We’re focused on three core goals: fostering meaningful social connection, helping people understand who can support them, and building strong one-on-one and group-based mentorship relationships.”
A year after it's conception, the program has grown into a vibrant, cross-divisional initiative supporting over 80 mentees across Stanford’s Department of Medicine. It’s equal parts mentoring infrastructure and cultural movement, designed to make the academic journey more navigable and more human.
“Stanford can feel like the Wizard of Oz,” Ramchandran explains. “You pull back the curtain and realize it’s not as intimidating as it first seems — but until that happens, it can feel enormous and hard to navigate. MODEL is helping to demystify the system.”
Listening First, Then Leading
MODEL was born out of a department-wide listening tour in 2023, where faculty shared what they felt was missing: protected time for mentorship, clarity on promotion pathways, cross-divisional collaboration, and a greater sense of belonging, especially for those in offsite roles or from underrepresented backgrounds. In response, the program launched initially with seven MODEL Leads, each mentoring a cohort through one-on-one check-ins, group sessions, and personalized support.
“Stanford can feel like the Wizard of Oz. You pull back the curtain and realize it’s not as intimidating as it first seems — but until that happens, it can feel enormous and hard to navigate. MODEL is helping to demystify the system.” - Co-Founder Kavitha Ramchandran, MD
Leads were carefully selected from a pool of competitive applicants and received formal training in communication, giving and receiving feedback, mentoring across differences, and career advancement pathways. Each was granted 20% FTE protected time, ensuring they had the bandwidth to lead with intentionality.
The Structure Behind the Support
Each MODEL Lead oversees a cohort of mentees, often intentionally formed across divisional lines to promote broader community-building and the breaking down of professional silos. In its first year, more than half the cohorts were cross-divisional, creating new networks where none existed before.
Cohort meetings take many forms — from fireside chats with leadership, to happy hour mixers, or dinners at the homes of MODEL leads.
Cohort meetings take many forms, from fireside chats with senior leadership and guest speaker events to happy hour mixers and wellness programming. But it’s often the quiet, personal moments that leave the strongest impression.
“This has been the single most valuable 45 minutes I’ve ever spent at Stanford,” one mentee said after a one-on-one meeting with their Lead.
For the MODEL Leads, the experience is equally meaningful. “Seeing mentees grow during one-on-one sessions was deeply rewarding,” shared William Collins, MD. Wen-Kai Weng, MD, PhD, echoed the sentiment: “The mentees took on new roles, increased productivity, and published more work.”
The structure is thoughtful by design. Junior faculty cohorts meet monthly, with quarterly one-on-one mentorship sessions. Mid-career faculty, who joined the program after its initial launch, participate in group programming every six to seven weeks and receive personalized mentor support twice a year.
Oversight of the junior cohorts is assigned to specific MODEL Leads, while the mid-career group is collaboratively supported by all seven. This staggered, dual-track schedule allows the department to stretch resources while maintaining a high level of engagement.
Building a Mentorship Culture
Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of MODEL’s first year isn’t the number of participants, but the depth of connection it fostered. Across cohorts, mentees formed lasting peer bonds, often turning to one another for support during challenging moments like high-stakes presentations or difficult feedback cycles.
“Shared experiences, including both success and failure, helped normalize challenges and inspire resilience,” reflected MODEL lead Shuchi Anand, MD.
There’s also a growing sense that MODEL is changing the broader culture within the department. Several division chiefs have now integrated MODEL into their onboarding process for new hires. Others have invited Leads to speak at faculty meetings, weaving mentorship into the fabric of divisional life.
What’s Next
Heading into its second year, the MODEL Program is refining its approach while expanding its reach. Now with eight MODEL mentor leads, their upcoming efforts include improved onboarding for new faculty, increased use of national conferences to share the program’s learnings, and more.
The goal isn’t just to retain faculty — it’s to help them flourish. And that means treating mentorship not as an afterthought, but as a foundational part of how Stanford cultivates talent, equity, and excellence.
“Shared experiences, including both success and failure, helped normalize challenges and inspire resilience.” - MODEL Lead, Shuchi Anand, MD.
As put by Niraj Sehgal, MD, clinical professor of hospital medicine and senior associate dean for clinical affairs in the School of Medicine, “MODEL reminds us of why we’re grateful to be at Stanford and in an environment where we’re continually finding ways to invest in ourselves and each other.”
In a place as vast and high-performing as Stanford, it’s easy to assume that success just happens. MODEL is a reminder that real success — sustainable, meaningful, human success — is built. Thoughtfully. Collectively. And one connection at a time.
MODEL mentors, mentees, and program staff gather to celebrate a successful first year of the program.
Learn more about MODEL
The Department of Medicine’s MODEL Program is a department-wide, cross-divisional mentoring and development initiative specifically designed to support the unique needs of faculty in the Clinician Educator (CE) and University Medical Line (UML) tracks. The program aims to foster professional growth, networking, and collaboration across divisions.
For more information, please contact Program Manager Rebecca Geraldi at rgeraldi@stanford.edu.