Mentor: Dr Matías J Alet, Argentina
Mentee: Gonzalo Pérez Hornos, Uruguay
Mentee: Diego Vela, Argentina
Dr Matías J Alet is a member of the Centro Integral de Neurología Vascular de Fleni, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Head Physician of the Stroke Unit of the JM Ramos Mejía Hospital in Buenos Aires. He is also a full member of the Board of Directors of the Argentine Neurological Society, and member of the World Stroke Organization and the Ibero-American Society of Cerebrovascular Diseases. He is part of the Global Angels Steering Committee. In addition he is Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Buenos Aires University. He is mentoring Gonzalo Pérez Hornos whose project focuses on stroke in young patients through a retrospective study of the database of the Hospital de Clínicas de Uruguay. He is also providing guidance to Diego Vela whose work concerns the creation of an SRC at the Hospital Presidente Derqui (Pilar, Argentina), with eventual use of telemedicine support from a main hospital. This institution lacks a neurology service and a neurologist.
Q&A with Gonzalo Pérez Hornos
What is your current role?
I am a senior neurology resident in Montevideo, Uruguay. I am participating in the Angels Mentoring Program on behalf of Uruguay and together with two of my resident colleagues in neurology, Dr María Paz Rodríguez and Dr Ramiro Rodríguez.
What motivated you to apply for the mentoring program?
The motivation comes from a drive to carry out national and regional research projects to know our data and adapt our work to the local reality. From the place of the young researcher who is starting, being able to access an experienced mentor is of great value to guide, help project ideas and make them concrete in a practical way.
What will be the ideal impact of your project?
Our particular project seeks to describe the young population with stroke in our country and, among other objectives, to know at what age the causes of stroke, very different in the young, begin to resemble those of older populations. The clinical value of this idea is to be able to develop recommendations on when to suspect unusual causes of stroke and when to extend the etiological search algorithms when we reach the category of ‘indeterminate’ cause with classical assessment studies. This would benefit patients and optimize the use of resources.
What specific benefits do you expect to get from the mentoring relationship?
The main benefit is the experience and learning obtained by knowing efficient ways to develop research projects. Another benefit is learning from the perspectives and analytical capacity that an experienced mentor presents when approaching an idea during the process of articulating concepts. Also the possibility of publishing the results of the work and thus communicating them in order to compare them with those of other countries in the region and in turn create work networks for collaborative projects on the same theme that broaden the dimension of understanding on the subject. Authors with more experience like our mentor are essential to guide and articulate the development of these joint projects, showing from their experience the most efficient and practical way and visualizing the global scheme.
How was your first presentation with your mentor?
The first presentation was very warm and pleasant. We found a mentor who seeks to complement and guide without imposing, to grow and enhance our ideas through active listening and making recommendations to ensure we carry them out in the most efficient way and with the highest scientific rigor. From this treatment the taste for doing this work is strengthened. Our mentor is Dr Matías Alet, who is a regional reference in stroke and with whom we have shared pleasantly previous instances in the past both in activities in congresses and in articles and scientific projects.
Have you had other mentors in the past?
Although our project is group-based, answering particularly for me, I have not had professionals that I consider mentors in my short and recently started career. I have learned from many teachers, colleagues, patients, researchers and old and modern authors that I do not know personally. In particular I have found many instances of learning in the interaction with my peers during the residency. In personal life I think very important the advice I have received regarding enriching cultural and family development and prioritizing a balanced life. This is important in Latin American countries where doing clinical research without having protected time is common and where professional development ends up being an exhausting effort to the detriment of growth in other aspects of life.
Have you ever had the opportunity to be a mentor to someone?
I have not had that opportunity in academia. I think I have in personal life and I consider it a very big responsibility and a very valuable experience.
Mentor: Lic. Enf. Nadia Mariela Tessore, Argentina
Mentee: Jimena Haidar, Argentina
Mentee: Adrieth Eliana Angulo Torrez, Argentina.
Lic. Enf. Nadia Mariela Tessore is a professor of nursing. She is teaching supervisor in the Neurocritical Care Section of the Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires and lecturer of the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and Specialty in Critical Care at the Favaloro University. She is also director and professor of the Neurocritical Care Course for Nursing at the University Institute of the Hospital Italiano. She will provide guidance on Jimena Haidar’s community nursing project for primary stroke prevention in the city of Bahía Blanca, Argentina, and Adrieth Eliana Angulo Torrez’s project – a proposal for management and nursing strategies for the rehabilitation of aphasia.
Q&A with Jimena Haidar
What is your current role?
I am a specialist nurse in Critical Care at the Hospital Italiano of Buenos Aires and I am finishing the Specialty in Economics and Management of Health Services. I am currently working in the Adult Intensive Care Unit and in the Nursing Education Area at the Hospital Municipal de Agudos Dr. Leónidas Lucero in Bahía Blanca. In addition, I lead the Neurocritical Nursing chapter of the Latin American Brain Injury Consortium (LABIC) and I am a teacher at several health institutions (Hospital Italiano University, Favaloro University, SATI, among others).
What motivated you to apply for the mentoring program?
The possibility of carrying out a project that impacts the community of Bahía Blanca and the region. I want to contribute to the improvement of stroke management and prevention from a nursing perspective, and I knew that having an experienced mentor in this area would be key to achieving my goals.
What will be the ideal impact of your project?
A significant improvement in the early detection and timely treatment of stroke in my region. I aspire for stroke patients to receive quick and adequate attention, which will increase their chances of recovery and reduce mortality and long-term sequelae. In addition, I hope that education and awareness in the community will lead to greater awareness about stroke prevention.
What specific benefits do you expect to get from the mentoring relationship?
I hope to gain a broader vision and effective strategies to successfully implement my project, leveraging the knowledge and experience of my mentor in the field of stroke. In addition, I seek guidance to overcome specific challenges, such as resource management and mobilization of the community and health personnel, ensuring that my project is sustainable and replicable in other regions.
How was your first presentation with your mentor?
I have known my mentor for many years and have had the opportunity to work with her on several occasions. I really admire her talent and experience in the subject. I am very happy that she is my tutor.
Have you had other mentors in the past?
Yes, throughout my career I have been fortunate to have several mentors and role models. Among them I highlight the teachers and several colleagues who guided me during my residency in critical care, those I met through LABIC and at my workplace. Each of them has taught me the importance of dedication, constant updating of knowledge and teamwork, influencing my professional development and my approach to nursing education.
Have you ever had the opportunity to be a mentor to someone and, if so, what was that experience like?
Yes, I have had the opportunity to mentor several students and colleagues in the field of neurointensive and critical care. This experience has been extremely rewarding, as it allows me to share my knowledge and contribute to the professional growth of others. In addition, being a mentor has helped me reflect on my own practices and stay updated.
Mentor: Dr. Pablo Felipe Amaya, Colombia
Mentee: Manuel Chasco, Argentina
Mentee: Rolando Héctor Nervi, Argentina
Dr. Pablo Felipe Amaya, is a vascular neurologist and director of the stroke program at Fundación Valle del Lili, Colombia. He is also Professor of Neurology at the Icesi University, Cali, Colombia, and a member of the Neurovascular Working Group of the Colombian Association of Neurology. He will provide guidance to Manuel Chasco whose project is a feasibility study, design and implementation of a telestroke project based in the Stroke Unit of the Pirovano Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is also mentor to Héctor Nervi whose work focuses on the creation of a SRC at the Regional Hospital of Río Gallegos, Argentina.
Q&A with Rolando Nervi
What is your current role?
I am a mentee in the project to create a care network in Rio Gallegos. From my position as local Coordinator of the Regional Hospital Rio Gallegos, I develop strategies (protocols, flowcharts) adapted to existing resources, to improve the assistance and care of stroke patients.
What motivated you to apply for the mentorship program?
The lack of formal or institutional protocols for the care of stroke patients, who were not prioritized as emergencies, and the failure to take advantage of the therapeutic effectiveness of current standardized treatments. The fact that despite not having a level of complexity in terms of existing professional resources (specialist doctors in diagnostic imaging, neurologists) to simplify the application of protocols adapted to the local level.
What will be the ideal impact of your project?
In this first stage, the result or impact of the project will be improving the identification and prioritization of symptoms, and the application of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures that will result in a greater number of patients being given the possibility for proper treatment.
What specific benefits do you expect to gain from the mentorship relationship?
Specifically, the supervision and recommendation from their experience in the application of protocols, which particularities are indispensable, and which can be dispensable for the proper implementation of the same.
How was your first presentation with your mentor?
It was through a video call, on the Angels Events App platform. I was struck by the cordiality, and clarity with which he transmitted his knowledge and opinions based on his experiences.
Have you had other mentors in the past?
Yes. University professors, instructors during my residency and medical colleagues with whom we share activities. They influenced me through their example.
Have you ever had the opportunity to mentor someone?
I have been a teacher at the secondary level in schools, and instructor in medical residencies and standardized courses such as ACLS and ATLS. It was a completely positive experience, which conditioned me to update and maintain interest in the activity.
Mentor: Dr Pablo M Lavados, Chile
Mentee: Ronald Soto Arancibia, Chile
Mentee: Mackarena Zapata, Chile
Dr Pablo M Lavados is a vascular neurologist who is Head of the Research and Clinical Trials Unit, Clínica Alemana in Santiago, Chile. He is also Professor of Neurology at the Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile, President of the Chilean Association of Cerebrovascular Diseases, and Vice President of the Ibero-American Society of Cerebrovascular Diseases. He is mentor to Ronald Soto Arancibia whose project concerns the creation of an integrated stroke network in the Health Care Service Metropolitano Occidente (SSMOc) in Santiago, Chile, and Mackarena Zapata who is conducting research on stroke patients in Chile through analysis of DRG indicators of medical coverage.
Q&A with Rolando Soto
What is your current role?
I am Coordinator of the Neurology Service at Hospital San Juan de Dios in Provincia de Santiago, Chile, and emergency neurologist at Clinica Davila in Santiago.
What motivated you to apply for the mentorship program?
Having the responsibility to change the outcomes of stroke patient care in his Health Service (the third-largest in Chile) that serves a predominantly vulnerable population.
What will be the ideal impact of your project?
Although care at the three levels of complexity is possible, they face significant operational challenges and there is a need to organize perfectly articulated care networks for the care of stroke patients.
What specific benefits do you expect to gain from the mentorship relationship?
The experience and guidance of the mentor is essential to continue despite some frustrations. We have the responsibility to bring the project to a successful conclusion in a timely manner because ‘we cannot fail Dr Lavados’.
How was your first presentation with your mentor?
I already knew him because he is a recognized opinion leader in Vascular Neurology.
At a time when stroke is high on the agenda in many countries in South America, the mentoring program seeks to empower those who aspire to generating a significant change in stroke patient outcomes. Angels South America believe that the program provides great opportunities, not only for the professionals who develop as mentors and mentees, but also for the communities in which they develop.
