5 TIPS FOR FINDING A MENTOR IN MEDICINE.

Glad to have you back! A massive thank you for the love and show of support on my first blog post!

Right! So if you read my previous blog post, it’s okay to assume that by now, you have done your introspection and you now understand why you should invest in a mentoring relationship as an early-career physician.  

Have you wondered how you would want to go about finding a mentor? Should you shoot your shot on meeting someone you admire a lot the very first time you meet them? Or should you aim to build an organic relationship with them and in the process get mentored? Are you a fan of long-distance mentoring or would you want to be mentored by someone who you can get to meet with physically? I do not think there is a one-size-fits-all approach to getting yourself a mentor.

This blog post will be focused on giving you a few tips on how you can find a mentor/mentors who will be the right fit for you. 

Grab a cup of coffee or tea and let’s dive in! 

Tip 1: Identify what’s most important to you per time.

This is a great starting point in maximizing your relationship with a proposed mentor. Take the time to reflect on what is important for you to achieve in whatever phase of your career. Doing this will help you know who can guide and give you insights to accomplish these goals. For example, when I was a medical student, acing my exams and staying top of my class were most important to me. As I advanced in my career, choosing a specialty tailor-made for me, and coming to a place where I enjoyed being a doctor became more important to me. It would then make sense to go looking for someone to help me figure out achieving these goals. Your choice of a mentor should come from a place of understanding of your background, personality, goals and aspirations.

Tip 2: Understand that different mentors serve different purposes.

My personal experience has made me realize that there is no perfect single mentor for an individual as there are different facets to a career in medicine. You can have different mentors to serve different purposes for you. If you have an interest in research, go looking for a mentor who has done well in research. If yours is in medical education, then you will need guidance from, for example, a faculty member. Your main interest could be the clinical side of things, a clinical mentor will be your best bet then. If you are someone like me who would prefer to have someone to run through your career plans with and get them to critically appraise them, then a career mentor would be just fine. Other reasons for seeking a mentor might be for residency or training applications, and some for settling into medical practice in a new country or a new specialty. Essentially, it would be very unrealistic to expect to have one perfect mentor in all aspects of a career in medicine 

Tip 3: Be intentional about looking out for a potential mentor.

I was listening to a webinar once and the speaker made a statement that stuck with me, the statement goes thus- “what you are not looking for, you cannot find. ” Intentionality is key in seeking out people to guide you. While I was in medical school, I understood that acing my exams was very much important to me as evidenced by my many academic laurels. One factor I was big on was actively seeking out senior colleagues who were excelling as well to guide me. Say, for example, you are an International Medical Graduate in a new work environment, your best bet for a mentor would be an International Medical Graduate just like you who has demonstrated excellence in that workplace. Another way by which you can actively look for a mentor is by attending conferences and webinars where you are likely to find these people so you can network with them. It is also crucial to note that you do not always need to be mentored by someone physically. You can follow people whose work you admire on their social media handles and consume their wholesome content passively. 

Tip 4: Take the bold step of reaching out politely

When reaching out to a potential mentor, it is essential to put your best foot forward in making your intentions known. One important skill to master is knowing how to shoot your shot politely regardless of the means with which you have chosen to do it. If sending a message/email, ensure you do not send a simple “Hello” to your proposed mentor, expecting them to maintain the conversation. They probably have a lot on their plate and may not have the luxury of time to spare to reply to a message that does not convey any intentions.  A more appropriate way of doing this would be expressing your intents in a body of the message, identifying what projects or achievements of theirs resonate with you and highlighting what you would want them to guide you on. This way, you are more likely to get a favourable response.

Tip 5: Aim to build a genuine relationship with your mentor. 

After you’ve reached out to your proposed mentor, have a plan to be authentic in your interactions with them. It would not be appealing for you to come off to them as though you are only interested in what they can offer you per time. Schedule sending follow-up emails either to check in at intervals or to update them on how their advice has been instrumental in your journey. This is not limited to when things go as planned because there is always that tendency to only want to share our good news. I have recently made it a habit to feedback even when I do not get my desired result under an individual’s mentorship. You never know, you may still need this person in some other unrelated circumstance in the future. Your mentor is human and as you may already know, humans are wired to desire to be wanted, appreciated, and valued. Use this to your advantage to establish an authentic mentoring relationship.

Thank you for reading! I hope the few tips shared in this blog post have shed some light on how you can take the intentional step of seeking out a mentor for your intended purpose. I would really love to hear from you about your self-proven tricks for seeking great mentors in medicine. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comment section.

See you in the next one where I will be sharing my experience on how to work with a mentor. Anticipate!

Yours,

Dr Aarinola.