Mentorship

Abstract

Navigating each stage of the physician-scientist career path is challenging. Because there is no blueprint for this pathway, it is sometimes difficult to know what is expected of you at each stage. Having good mentors throughout your career can help make the challenges more manageable. Finding the right mentor can be difficult. A mentor who is good at one stage of your career may not be the right mentor for you at another stage of your career. It can be difficult to know where to find mentors and how to approach them. In some institutions, new physician-scientists receive formal mentorship during the first few years of their career. This may also happen for individuals who are training as physician-scientists. However, in the majority of situations, formal mentorship is not offered. Instead, it is up to you to find mentors, to develop relationships with them, and to identify the help that you need from them. As you become more senior, it is your responsibility to serve as a mentor for younger individuals. This role may not be one for which you have had specific training. However, each of us has encountered different mentors along the physician-scientist pathway. Some have been good and others have not. By identifying the good and not so good qualities in our own mentors, we can develop the traits needed to be effective mentors ourselves.

Mentor: someone whose hindsight can become your foresight.

–Unknown