Mentorship programs are developed and prevalently used in the medical profession to enhance workers’ performance and improve patients’ satisfaction levels in the long term. Whether a physician, medical student, or professor, a mentor is someone who has experience in the medical field and can listen and be supportive to the mentee (AAMC). Mentors motivate mentees to be at their best self and that leads to high performance and satisfaction for both the mentor and mentee.
Many medical students and physicians benefit from mentorship programs as their personal and career development goals are achieved. According to a survey on PubMed Central, physicians with mentors are twice as likely to be promoted, compared to physicians without mentors. There are many types of mentorships that medical workers could benefit from, and here are the major 3:
– One-on-one mentoring: A mentor is matched with a mentee in this model. This is the most common mentorship that improves physicians’ productivity and work efficiency. Knowledge will be transferred smoothly from experienced physicians to those who just started working. One-on-one mentoring also reinforces mentor-mentee relationships.
– Peer mentoring: This model applies when a mentee is surrounded by coworkers who are at the same age or experience level as him/her. New physicians could learn from each other and practice together. However, an official feedback system needs to be developed to support peer mentorship and standardize the assessment of mentees’ performances.
– Virtual mentoring: This type of mentorship is popular during the pandemic. Mentors and mentees can schedule flexible meetings when their time allows. There is also no location limitation for virtual mentoring so that mentors and mentees will be exposed to new cultures, ideas, and practices from many other countries.
What will a physician gain after the mentorship?
– A broader understanding of medical knowledge, techniques, and practices.
– A new and more detailed career path
– A more insightful decision involving the rotation choice, the residency program, and the field of practice
– Networks and strong relationships in the healthcare industry
– A higher possibility to be promoted in the short term
The impact of mentorship in the healthcare industry is immense. It generates sustainable benefits to either mentors or mentees. Mentors offer invaluable expertise and motivation to mentees who work toward their goals of becoming medical workers. Given the importance of mentorship for success in the medical profession, mentors and mentees should make joint efforts to establish a supportive environment for a more efficient knowledge-transferring process!
References:
- AAMC. 5 Tips for Finding and Working With a Mentor. Retrieved from https://students-residents.aamc.org/choosing-medical-career/5-tips-finding-and-working-mentor
- Vikrant Bhatnagar, Sebastian Diaz, and Philip A Bucur. (2020). The Need for More Mentorship in Medical School. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7273374/
