How to Approach Mentorship as a Mentee

Abstract

Mentorship relationships have the potential to impart numerous benefits to early- and middle-career academic physicians–scientists, clinicians, and administrators. These relationships not only influence the mentee’s decision to enter and remain in academic medicine, but they have been shown to increase self-confidence and productivity, improve overall career satisfaction, and enhance the mentee’s sense of professional community.

Mentee self-awareness and a thoughtfully conceived professional development plan are crucial to the initiation of successful mentoring partnerships. Also essential is the ability to identify and effectively engage mentors who possess the talents, expertise, and professional connections likely to benefit the mentee.

From the very beginning of the relationship, careful consideration should be given to the structure of mentoring encounters and to expectations for the mentorship experience. Mutually beneficial relationships will best sustain as the result of thorough preparation for meetings, continuous hard work, and ongoing assessment of outcomes.

Termination of mentorships should be an anticipated aspect of relationship progression. Although such terminations may on occasion unfortunately occur as personality conflicts became insurmountable, they most commonly end or fade away in more developmentally appropriate fashion as goals are met or mentees advance to positions of increased autonomy.

Mentorship relationships are dynamic and reciprocal processes. These processes are best guided by the mentee’s self-determined goals and career visions that evolve and mature through the interactive and iterative experiences of mentorship.