Mentoring in Medical Colleges: Bringing Out the Best in People

Abstract

Mentoring is known to promote development of professional skills irrespective of the discipline. It is a natural phenomenon that emanates from the desire of a senior and experienced individual to give and the need of an inexperienced novice to grow. Mutual trust, faith and respect while working towards a shared vision of objectives and achievements are the main driving force of a mentoring relationship. It requires the mentor to give selflessly and the mentee to accept graciously while conveying his needs and being an active partner in the process. A mentor is looked upon as a guide, confidante, counselor, teacher, friend, supporter, and much more in professional and career development as well as psychosocial or personal aspects. The mentee is expected to take a proactive role in guiding and managing the process. Despite a clear need for mentoring during and after medical school, very few medical schools in India foster this relationship. Most have student advisor programs or counseling cells that are oriented primarily to problem solving. There is also a lack of full understanding of the roles of a mentor or a mentee even though the terms are used rather frequently. A mentoring relationship could be formally established as a part of an institutional or departmental mentoring program, long term or short term, with a specific purpose; or, for overall career progression, individual or in a small group. Also, the mentees’ requirements at different stages of training and career may decide the type of mentoring relationship. The needs of a first year medical undergraduate student are different from those of a final year student or a postgraduate resident. There is an imminent need to train the medical school faculty in mentoring skills and orient the students to ‘mentor-mentee relationship’.