The English word “mentor” is derived from Homer’s epic The Odyssey . The protagonist, Odysseus, entrusts his son Telemachus to the care of his close friend Mentor. Mentor played the roles of caregiver, teacher, counselor, coach, sponsor, and protector for his charge. The Greek goddess Athena, who arrived on Earth disguised as Mentor, encouraged Telemachus to learn about and search for his father, along with helping the young man resolve personal dilemmas.
Mentorship has evolved since the early days of Greek mythology. Mentorship has an important role in all disciplines and may be critical for organizational and personal success. Fostering the various interests of today’s radiologists through mentorship will help sustain and augment our specialty in the future . In a 1997 consensus statement from the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, “mentorship” is defined as a professional and a personal relationship . The personal component of the relationship distinguishes a mentor from a mere “faculty adviser” . These terms are often used synonymously in academia. While a faculty adviser may serve as a mentor, the expectations of a mentor exceed that of the professional advice offered by the standard adviser . As mentorship is a longitudinal process, a mentor has the opportunity to engage the protégé by discovering his or her interests, strengths, and passions. The role of the mentor may be distinct from a role model or a teacher, although the mentor may serve as both. A role model serves the protégé who is interested in emulating his or her behavior or decisions but does not include a meaningful personal relationship. A role model may not realize he or she is influencing the behavior of another person.
Mentorship also incorporates the responsibility of teacher. Teachers’ interactions with students may be temporary or episodic and may be limited to overseeing or delivering information or knowledge . By contrast, effective mentors offer a more complete education to their protégés, including experiences, and the education occurs over an extended period of time. Often, a person develops mentoring relationships with different mentors, each fulfilling a different role for that person, as needed. In addition, while the protégé benefits from the relationship, the mentor also receives considerable benefits .
The new academic radiologist may ask himself or herself the following: If mentorship is critical to my success, why does my institution not assign me a well-connected mentor immediately? Because mentorship is critical to developing and establishing one’s career, having a mentor is possibly critical to success . However, because mentorship requires a personal relationship, an assigned mentor is not always a wise decision. The recent advent of assigned mentorship programs to radiology residencies around the country arose from an interest in utilization of educational resources and metrics of outcomes of learning . However, there is greater mentorship satisfaction by both the mentor and the protégé when the protégé chooses their mentor to fulfill a specific role, rather than working to establish a meaningful relationship with an assigned mentor . Meaningful communication and understanding are required for an effective mentoring relationship. Therefore, the best interactive chemistry enables the interchange needed for the mentor to understand the needs of the mentee and for the mentor to benefit from the relationship .
The new academician may consider the need for multiple mentors. Truly, mentorship is a team effort and a dynamic process. Multiple mentors fill different roles. Mentorship needs at any specific point in time are unlikely to be addressed by one individual, and they change throughout life . Professional responsibilities may relate to clinical activity, research, administrative, and educational roles. We can benefit from input and suggestions from different mentors to improve performance in all facets of life. Mentor–protégé relationships do not last a lifetime, and they often reflect one’s specific problems and responsibilities . Therefore, mentoring needs change and evolve as one’s life unfolds. While some mentorship relationships may last for years, others may be related to specific needs, questions, or goals . A good mentor will be enthusiastic about the protégé moving on and maturing, as he or she transitions to a new stage in life .
Junior faculty members often enlist more senior colleagues as mentors. The mentor may or may not reflect the role of the protégé. Many factors contribute to this occurrence including convenience, barriers to an effective mentoring relationship, and unfamiliarity of the mentor with the issues faced by the protégé . Although these factors may be unimportant when the mentor is within the protégé’s working environment, they support informal meetings and exchange of ideas. A more experienced colleague with similar background is more knowledgeable of local policies and collaborative or funding opportunities and may provide unexpected insight into personal growth processes. Such a mentor may offer advice to the protégé about external opportunities in the national or international community that would be useful to pursue. The more senior colleague is frequently called on to mentor because the protégé is searching for advancement opportunity from an individual who has made similar career choices from a comparable perspective.
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
Get Radiology Tree app to read full this article<
References
1. Barr L.L., Shaffer K., Valley K., et. al.: Mentoring: applications for the practice of radiology. Invest Radiol 1993; 28: pp. 71-75.
2. Mainiero M.B.: Mentoring radiology residents: why, who, when, and how. J Am Coll Radiol 2007; 4: pp. 547-550.
3. 1997.National Academy PressWashington, D.C.
4. Jackson V.A., Palepu A., Szalacha L., et. al.: “Having the right chemistry”: a qualitative study of mentoring in academic medicine. Acad Med 2003; 78: pp. 328-334.
5. Barnes A.K.: Mentoring and training.Effective management: 20 keys to a winning culture.2013.ASTD pressAlexandria, VA:pp. 15-24.
6. Gallo A.: Mentoring in all its shapes and sizes.Harvard Business Review guide to getting the mentoring you need.2011.Harvard Business School PressBoston, MA:
7. Kram K.E.: Mentoring at work: developmental relationships in organizational life.1988.University Press of AmericaLanham, MD
8. Kram KE, Higgins MC. A new approach to mentoring. Wall Street Journal Sep 22 2008.
9. Donovan A.: Views of radiology program directors on the role of mentorship in the training of radiology residents. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2010; 194: pp. 704-708.
10. McKenna A.M., Straus S.E.: Charting a professional course: a review of mentorship in medicine. J Am Coll Radiol 2011; 8: pp. 109-112.
11. Straus S.E., Chatur F., Taylor M.: Issues in the mentor-mentee relationship in academic medicine: a qualitative study. Acad Med 2009; 84: pp. 135-139.
12. Beauchamp N.J.: Leadership.Yousem D.M.Beauchamp N.J.Radiology business practice: how to succeed.2008.Saunders ElsevierPhiladelphia, PA:pp. 19-33.
13. Meister JC, Willyerd K. Mentoring millenials. Harvard Bus Rev May 2010.
14. Benson C.A., Morahan P.S., Sachdeva A.K., et. al.: Effective faculty preceptoring and mentoring during reorganization of an academic medical center. Med Teach 2002; 24: pp. 550-557.
15. Illes J., Glover G.H., Wexler L., et. al.: A model for faculty mentoring in academic radiology. Acad Radiol 2000; 7: pp. 717-724.