Mentoring for medical educators
Mentoring for Clinician-Educators: How to Find Your Mentor
Susan Farrell, M.D. Brigham and Women’s Hospital SAEM Undergraduate Education Committee Wendy C. Coates, M.D. Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Chair, SAEM Undergraduate Education Committee [MENTOR: “1. a wise, loyal advisor 2. a teacher or coach”.(1) According to Greek mythology, when Odysseus left for the siege of Troy, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, appeared as Mentor, a trusted friend who became responsible for raising Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, during his absence. Mentor was not just a teacher, but a transitional figure who assisted in his growth and development from child to young adult. Mentor guided Telemachus on his own journey to independence.]
Mentoring is a well-recognized ingredient to a successful academic medical career. (2-6) Yet, clinician-educators may be at risk for inadequate mentorship. In a study of the prevalence of mentorship at one medical school, clinician-scientists were more likely to consider themselves mentored than clinician-educators. (7) If you identify yourself as a junior faculty member who wishes to succeed and be promoted as a clinician-educator, now is the time to actively seek out mentorship. This article will discuss the importance of mentorship in your career and provide you with a 4-step approach to establishing a healthy mentoring relationship.
Mentoring for medical educators
Unlike the traditional, “closed model” of mentoring as the dyad of a protégé who receives teaching and counsel from an older, experienced master, a modern “open model” of mentoring is triggered by career-aspiring protégés who seek out mentoring from a variety of potential sources. (8) Rogers published mentorship guidelines for junior faculty who embark on an academic career. (9)
STEP 1. [Self-reflection and self-assessment]
Take stock in yourself and assess your own capacity as a protégé. The initial and final responsibility to ensure an effective mentoring relationship rests with the protégé. (10) An attractive protégé from the perspective of a potential mentor is hard working, self-confident, and self-sufficient within their abilities. You must be willing to commit time and energy to the development of your educational projects and career, which, in turn, will lead to the advancement of the specialty. Finally, you must network and establish collaborative alliances with other educators. As a clinician-educator, assess where you are in your career in relation to your desired career goals. Wilkerson and Irby (11) define four stages of faculty involvement in educational careers: 1. Entry level teachers who are learning and refining basic teaching skills and orienting to academic values, responsibilities and expectations; 2. Teachers with greater pedagogical skill and content knowledge; 3. Educational leaders who direct clerkships and programs;
Mentoring for medical educators
4. Teacher-scholars who approach educational questions of process and outcomes of teaching interventions and curriculum reforms. Each career level has different learning needs related to continued faculty development. Once you have identified your current level, try to assess your competence realistically. Reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and determine which of your educational initiatives or projects have been successful. Think consciously about why and how you develop and start such projects. Identify times when your current knowledge or skills were inadequate, and when your attitudes needed to be challenged. What do these experiences imply about your level of competence in the educational venue of your interest (e.g., teaching skills, curriculum design or assessment, educational course administration)? Your own self-assessment knowledge may be enhanced by direct observation or assessment of your skills by a trusted and critical peer who can observe and take notes during one of your teaching sessions, or review creative works. Next, assess and define your career goals and evaluate your core values. Career goals may be outlined in one and five year progressions. Writing down your goals allows you to return to them in the future for reflection and may help clarify them. Similarly, outline your core values as they relate to your view of yourself as a successful clinician-educator, academic emergency physician, and person. Continuous or periodic reassessment of goals and core values may be necessary. Evaluate your commitment to your institution and discipline and become familiar with the values, norms, expectations, and promotion requirements for
Mentoring for medical educators
clinician-educators. (12) Such structured reflection on upcoming challenges allows you to identify your specific learning needs and future directions, in relation to your current standing. Although the exact path to your desired goals may not be clear to you as you embark on your career advancement, thoughtful consideration of your skills will be helpful when you approach potential mentors in medical education.
STEP 2. [Identify learning needs] Once you have reflected on your current standing and competencies, you can identify which academic role needs developing and select a content area in which to focus. These decisions may be influenced by how your institution assesses the educational scholarship of clinician-educators. (12) As a clinician-educator, you may be interested in improving your teaching skills, implementing a new curriculum innovation or assessment tool, or performing educational research related to your current projects. (11,13) Review the pertinent literature related to your interests and define your learning needs based on a foundation of knowledge on which to build your future work. When you have identified your learning needs, be prepared to approach a potential mentor with specific questions regarding what content areas you think you need to develop. Consider writing down the specific questions you would like to ask a potential mentor.
STEP 3. [Identify potential mentors]
Mentoring for medical educators
Once you have determined your academic role and content area of focus, identify role models and potential mentors. Ask yourself what personal and professional qualities you desire and value in a mentor: perhaps someone to inspire, support, invest, someone to promote critical thinking and analysis skills. When seeking mentors, look for those who are respected in your field of interest. They may have been successful with their own educational endeavors or research, or may have influence and be able to assist in your advancement. Look for someone who understands the career choices and goals of a clinician-educator, as well as the resources available to a protégé on this career track. Potential mentors in medical education should be recognized teachers and motivators who have a commitment to mentoring and have an interest in junior faculty. The individual choice of a mentor may include a search for someone who also has interests that match your own. A potential mentor may be willing to collaborate with you, or have valuable administrative and methodological expertise to impart. (13,14) The chairman of one’s home department can serve as a valuable resource in helping to identify appropriate mentor(s). As a clinician-educator, immerse yourself in the medical education network of your institution and at the national level, within emergency medicine, and the American Association of Medical Colleges. Be prepared to look within and outside of your department, institution, region, and discipline. Seek potential mentors at faculty development programs designed for medical educators. A search of the medical education literature may identify
Mentoring for medical educators
others. Be prepared to sort through various or conflicting advice when approaching several potential mentors for assistance.
STEP 4. [Approach and engage potential mentor(s)]
When you have identified potential mentors, approach and engage them with respect, demonstrating seriousness about your career aspirations. Explain your goals, your current academic situation, and what you think you might need in terms of advice and guidance. Start with concrete, practical tasks and questions that you have derived during your self-reflection. Recognize and appreciate a potential mentor’s time and energy and explain why you have chosen them as a mentor. A rich mentoring relationship has many benefits to you, the mentor, your departments, institutions, organizations, and our specialty. (15)
Conclusion Today, a modern definition of the mentoring relationship is “a dynamic, reciprocal relationship in a work environment between an advanced career incumbent (mentor) and a beginner (protégé) aimed at promoting the career development of both.” (16) At its best, mentorship is both a personal and professional interaction based on mutual respect, trust, understanding and empathy. No longer does mentorship apply only to clinician-scientists and
Mentoring for medical educators
researchers. Take advantage of the resources available to you, the clinicianeducator, to promote increased academic productivity and success.
Mentoring for medical educators
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