The journey from San Diego to Cleveland is just over 2,300 miles. That’s what Kyle Underwood, a caregiver at Cleveland Clinic, faced when he decided to move from his home in California to take a role as a Fellow at Cleveland Clinic a few years ago.

That step in Kyle’s career came with a lot of initial uncertainty. Kyle would be far from his family and friends, was embarking on a new career, and would have to face the unfamiliar weather of the northern part of the Midwest United States. All this uncertainty was quickly resolved, as Kyle settled into his role as a Fellow and realized everything Cleveland Clinic offers its caregivers. One of the early things he took advantage of was the mentor-mentee program, allowing him to establish relationships with his fellow caregivers and receive advice and support to grow in his career.

“Mentoring is so much more than business tips and tricks,” says Kyle. “My success has been attributed to mentors. In my fellowship and coming into the caregiver family and having gone through what I’ve gone through, I learned how to navigate life, how to be a good human, and even how to scrape ice off my car.”

Cleveland Clinic offers many opportunities for caregivers to play either side of the mentor-mentee relationship. Mentors partner with other caregivers to help develop skills, build confidence, experience multidisciplinary collaboration, improve relationships and more, via regular meetings and teambuilding and work experiences. Cleveland Clinic fosters a culture in which caregivers can explore these types of relationships either formally through one of the mentoring or coaching programs or informally by building relationships with fellow caregivers. One Cleveland Clinic mentoring program that has seen success is the ASPIRE Nurse Scholarship program, where experienced nurses offer companionship and guidance to nursing students. Many mentors find that they not only get to play a role in their mentees’ success and foundational growth, but that they also learn some things through their own experience.

From Mentee to Mentor
Kyle’s experience as a mentee not only helped him to grow, but it also inspired him to form more of those caregiver relationships and to try his hand on the other side as a mentor. Now 26 years old and a Program Manager at Cleveland Clinic’s Head and Neck Institute, Kyle found the opportunity to pursue this goal early on, as fellow caregiver Adam Haas started working in the Head and Neck Institute on the same day he did. Kyle and Adam share similar ages, goals, interests and personalities, so it was easy to form an early connection. Kyle sent a simple email to Adam, asking to get lunch, and the relationship grew from there.

“When we got lunch, it started with him asking me, ‘Why do you work in healthcare? Why do you find a value in this?’” Adam said. “And then we went back and forth, and then daily meetings turned into projects together and then that turned into hanging out on the weekends.”

From there, the relationship has evolved into more. Not only do Kyle and Adam hold weekly lunch and learn sessions where they discuss projects, career pathing and anything that might be going on at work, but they also feel comfortable reaching out to each other in the halls or via phone or email whenever they feel the need to discuss something. Additionally, the relationship has grown into a friendship. Kyle and Adam refer to each other as “friendtors,” and they even spend time with each other outside of work.

“Adam and I very much clicked, and we’ve been able to invest in each other,” Kyle said. “That’s the beauty of mentorship. It’s not just a one-sided approach. We work together and we are also friends, and it’s turned into a really rich relationship.”

“An advantage of a mentorship is not just professional development, but also making a friend that can really impact your life,” said Adam.

The Relationship Goes Both Ways
This relationship not only helps Kyle and Adam move through their workdays and projects with purpose, but it also brings them motivation to support others and gives them perspective on what other caregivers are working through daily. Additionally, it gives them a sense of belonging, as they know caregivers of all backgrounds, interests and more are accepted and supported in their work and growth.

“It gives me a sense of purpose in my career and my life journey that I’m giving back to somebody else and seeing them shine,” said Kyle. “As I went through my fellowship to where I am now, I’ve been very blessed to be very successful in my career. But my biggest joy is seeing people that I invested in doing well.”

Caregiver Belonging
That sense of caregiver belonging really hits home for Kyle, who was diagnosed with Hunter Syndrome at an early age. Hunter Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that affects development. Kyle has said that he’s never experienced a day at Cleveland Clinic where he didn’t feel accepted by his fellow caregivers. Additionally, advocacy and community work are large parts of life for both Kyle and Adam. Kyle is a member of the Rare Disease Legislative Advocate Committee and Adam volunteers with Special Olympics and local animal shelters.

“There are times when Kyle and I will both work with his advocacy program,” Adam said. “Whether it be planning an event for Hunter Syndrome or being looped into a project like that, it’s really cool to support his ‘why’ and be involved in that.”

While Kyle and Adam both feel comfortable forming these relationships, they say it wouldn’t be possible without the environment that Cleveland Clinic fosters. Not only does Cleveland Clinic have diversity initiatives and champion caregiver belonging, but the organization also offers mentoring and coaching programs. This sense of belonging has given Kyle, Adam and many other caregivers the comfortability to form many of these relationships, both formal and informal.

“What Cleveland Clinic has done, is they have created an environment and a culture where these natural conversations and natural relationships can be developed,” Kyle said. “And we can be truly mentors and mentees.”

The Journey Continues
Kyle and Adam have continued their strong relationship as they’ve continued to grow throughout their careers. They’ve also found some other fellow caregivers whom they’ve felt comfortable bouncing ideas off and are excited to encourage others to form valuable caregiver relationships. And, as the story grows, so does the relationship. Kyle and Adam recently took the next step in their career journeys together, moving to Nevada to transition into roles at Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. Once settled in Las Vegas, they’ll have to form relationships with their new fellow caregivers, but they are confident they can do so, thanks to the environment Cleveland Clinic has created.