Developed by 2021
Women as One
Escalator Award
Mentor Match Winners
Shrilla Banerjee, MD, FRCP
Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, UK
Aaysha Cader, MD, MRCP
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, United KingdomIbrahim Cardiac Hospital & Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh
What is
Mentoring?
Mentorship is the practice of helping and advising a less experienced person over a period of time, especially as part of a formal program.
A partnership between 2 people built upon trust and confidentiality
Builds self-reliance through skillful questioning and an additional, experienced view on issues
Mutual respect and trust, shared values, and strong communication
Good mentoring is discipline-agnostic – principles apply
Offers an opportunity to develop, inspire and support participants to enable them to fulfill their true professional (and personal) potential
Fortifying
the Pipeline of
Women in Medicine
Mentorship has consistently been identified as a key component supporting professional development and gender parity in medicine
Mentorship
Varying mentorship “needs”
- Clinical
- Research
- Advocacy
- Leadership
- Work/Life Balance
The Power of
Mentorship
Research on the power of mentorship is clear. People with mentors perform better, advance their careers faster and even experience more work-life satisfaction.
Mentors benefit too. “To teach is to learn twice”
Mentor / Mentee
Objectives
- Every mentor-mentee relationship is different, yet the mentor’s role is consistent.
- Mentors are offering themselves as a responsive resource to the mentees.
Setting Boundaries
Consider the following as you set clear guidelines and boundaries with your mentee.
Are you comfortable providing your mobile phone number?
Are you prepared to meet ‘outside’ of agreed hours/times?
Would you accept a ‘LinkedIn’ or “Facebook’ invite?
Think about how much personal information you are willing to share.
As a mentor,
you can share:
Mentorship
Model:
Mentor
- Understand
- Share
- Agree and Plan
- Review and Adapt
01
Understand
Take time to understand your mentee
- Ask open questions
Understand your role as a mentor
- Act as an advisor and sounding board
- Empower your mentee to act independently
02
Share
03
Agree and Plan
Establish needs
Gather more detail and information
Plan
04
Review and Adapt
Issues/priorities
Documentation
What else can I do to help?
Build Rapport
- Agree on the context and goals for working together
- Do your respective initial expectations of the relationship align?
- Who will be the ‘driver’ of the relationship? (Mentor should look for mentee to lead)
Structure
- Agree on meeting frequency and length (suggestion: 60 minutes per month)
- Plan specific future meeting dates
- Agree on best communication method between meetings (email, text, phone, Teams)
- Identify the key issues to work on
- Review ‘Mentoring Agreement’ and sign
Mentorship vs
Sponsorship
Increasing need for sponsorship A sponsor is an advocate who provides influential and promotional support Sponsors don’t generally provide the advice or guidance that a mentor does
- Arnold, M. et al. (2021) ‘Transitioning from mentee to mentor: How and when to start developing the skills needed to support others?’, Stroke, 52(12), pp. E848–E851. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.121.035918.
- Catanese, L. and Shoamanesh, A. (2017) ‘Identifying the Right Mentor’, Stroke, 48(9), pp. e248–e251. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.117.018545.
- Chopra, V., Vaughn, V. M. and Saint, S. (no date) ‘The mentoring guide: helping mentors & mentees succeed’, p. 131.
- Faloye, A. O., Bechtel, A. J. and Methangkool, E. (2021) ‘Peer Mentorship: An Often-Overlooked Tool in Underresourced Academic Departments’, Academic Medicine, p. 16. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003776.
- Kashiwagi, D. T., Varkey, P. and Cook, D. A. (2013) ‘Mentoring programs for physicians in academic medicine: A systematic review’, Academic Medicine, 88(7), pp. 1029–1037. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0B013E318294F368.
- Murphy, M. et al. (2022) ‘Mentoring Relationships and Gender Inequities in Academic Medicine: Findings from a Multi-Institutional Qualitative Study’, Academic Medicine, 97(1), pp. 136–142. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000004388.
- Ouimet, M., Bauer, R. C. and Hilaire, C. S. (2021) ‘Building your mentoring network in your early career’, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 41, pp. 2513–2515. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.121.316802.
- Sharma, G. et al. (2019) ‘The Importance of Mentorship and Sponsorship: Tips for Fellows-in-Training and Early Career Cardiologists’, JACC: Case Reports, 1(2), pp. 232–234. doi: 10.1016/J.JACCAS.2019.06.007.
- Waljee, J. F., Chopra, V. and Saint, S. (2018) ‘Mentoring Millennials’, JAMA, 319(15), pp. 1547–1548. doi: 10.1001/JAMA.2018.3804.
