How Mentors Can Help You
Sep 18, 2020
Published by Kathrin O'Neill
Residency is a new chapter in your career as a doctor. It is a vital step in your career since it is where you will experience actual working conditions. You will also undergo years of training so that you can specialize in a particular field that you are interested in. Its goal is to train young physicians in their future careers in medicine by undergoing programs that enables them to reach their personal and professional goals in service to society. One of the biggest changes that you will be encountering is that you will be working under the supervision of an attending physician.
Mentors can guide you to develop professional expertise. They also have a great impact in fostering your professional development. Mentorship also improves career choices. You can receive helpful advice on career decisions, clinical work, and research from them.
Mentoring relationships between faculty and trainees have been encouraged in order to improve satisfaction with the training experience. Successful mentoring relationships enables the faculty to provide you with career and psychosocial support while guiding your development of professional expertise.
Throughout the years, medical practice has always favored men and particular demographics. Mentorship made a great change in the workforce as it fosters diversity and equality. It enables women and minorities to feel accepted in the medical society.
Mentoring can be beneficial to your personal development as you develop stronger attachment to the organization of doctors, determination to achieve goals, connection to practice culture and get advice for coping with challenges and facing disappointments. As a whole mentors must be firm but kind.
There are residents who receive assistance from their mentors in finding a position after residency. Other doctors who were mentored also tend to receive more promotions and higher compensation than those who do not have mentors.
Mentors are usually attending physicians who is also a member of the medical faculty. They also work in the same institution as you. Many medical schools have established mentoring programs in which students and residents are assigned mentors. Some larger medical practices and health care providers also implement formal mentoring programs for new hires.
For most people, mentors are found, not necessarily assigned to them. It may be that colleague working alongside you on any typical shift, just as well as one of the big-name leaders in your specialty. Anyone whom you admire and whose opinion you trust is a potential mentor. Often, all it takes to establish a connection is simply expressing your interest and asking for advice. Whether your practice has a formal mentoring program in place, or you establish an informal arrangement with a colleague, mentoring is more important in medicine than ever.
It is important to have a mentor who is knowledgeable in the field you want to specialize in. You must also find someone who is effective. Characteristics of effective mentors include being an expert in his or her field, experienced, honest, provide career guidance and opportunities, offer emotional support, and help mentees balance their work and personal life. A mentor must be a good teacher. Most of all, the most important characteristic of a mentor is generosity. Knowledge freely given is truly a gift to the mentee.
Learning is not one way. Aside from having a good mentor, you have to be an effective mentee as well. Thus, always remember to be respectful of your mentor’s time, come to meetings prepared with a list of topics, and be open to feedback. Be respectful and humble at all times.
It is truly fulfilling to learn from a mentor who is happy to help you leap forward in your career. Mentors also find satisfaction in mentoring especially when they see a mentee’s growth. The most successful mentorships are formed by mentors who seek out mentees who have characteristics that are compatible with them.
There might be times when you feel uncomfortable discussing matters with your mentor, or you may feel that your mentors are very imposing on you. Being a doctor is not all about things learned in school. It is also important to be able adapt and deal with people. To make a mentor-mentee relationship truly successful, mutual trust must be present. Both individuals must play an active role in promoting that relationship.
Residency training programs are truly important in producing competent and dedicated doctors thus experts continuously improve these programs to provide a better experience and outcome of residency training. In relation to this, mentorship plays a key role in making a residency program successful so make sure that you will have a capable and helpful mentor to guide you.
Mentoring does not end after you finish your residency. You will need someone to guide you throughout your practice as a doctor. Even mentors need mentors. At the end of the day, always remember that the best way you can learn medicine is through experience and mentorship. By the time you become a mentor, do not forget that you were once a resident.
