Mentorship
last authored:
last reviewed:
Introduction
Mentoring may be longitudinal or more short term, meeting a specific, strategic need (Taylor, Taylor, and Stoller, 2009). Others describe forming a 'board of directors' to guide, in a longer term fashion the health and development of various aspects of life and career.
Why Be Mentored?
Benefits of being a mentor include:
- enhanced academic reputation for spotting and developing talented trainees
- development of a dependable junior colleague
- satisfaction of repaying debt from own mentors
- thrill and pride of seeing a protege succeed
- enjoyment and excitement of taking partial credit for mentee's successes
Finding an Effective Mentor
An effective mentor should be:
- competent
Effective Mentorship
Some common interests can be helpful in establishing a relationship.
Ask the right questions:
help trainees find their own path, spaces, and learning environments.
It is important to formalize the relationship, objectives, and expectations, with a clear understanding of roles.
Objectives should be SMART, and revisited on occasion.
People should be educated in giving and receiving feedback.
Communication is central to the mentorship relationship. Face-to-face meetings are ideal, though can pose logistical challenges. e-Mentoring is becoming increasingly common, with tools to facilitate exchange.
it is important for the mentor to communicate passion along with advice, and to be able to celebrate the successes of the mentee.
Successful mentoring requires commitment of those involved, but also a teaching-learning environment that supports this relationship (Sambunjak, Straus, and Marusic, 2009).
Mentorship Programs
We need the right type of space: physical and temporal. Organizations and educational programs do well to anticipate and facilitate this need.
Instutions need assistance creating or enhancing these opportunities.
Resources and References
Global Health Research mentorship modules Vic Neufeld
www.CCGHR.ca - resources-mentorship
Romberg E. 1993. Mentoring the Individual Student: qualities that distinguish between effective and ineffective advisors. J Dent Ed. 57:287-90.
Sambunjak D, Straus S, Marusic A. 2009. A systematic review... J General Internal Medicine.
Taylor CA, Taylor JC, Stoller JK. 2009. The influence of mentorship and role-modeling on developing physician-leader: view of aspiring and established physician-leaders.
 |