Insights into Mentorship for Endocrinologists

Abstract

Effective mentorship is considered a prerequisite for success during medical training and an ensuing professional career in academic medicine. The Endocrine Society established sessions on mentorship at the Trainee Day during several annual meetings. These requests motivated a group of endocrinologists at the University of Virginia to assess prior literature on mentorship and collect opinions on the importance of the various characteristics of mentorship from endocrinologists, general faculty, and trainees. This information served as the basis for in-depth reflection and discussions on mentorship. The goal was to identify and prioritize the quintessential elements involved in mentorship and to reach practical conclusions that would be beneficial to academic endocrinologists. A multigenerational mentorship tree emphasizes that successful mentors can influence generations of mentees and that this represents a multiplier effect. The authors propose that trainees who are informed about the most important characteristics of an effective mentor can make better choices of a mentor. On the other hand, mentors can best define expectations when mentees know what to expect from a mentor, based on key characteristics. Similarities and differences in expectation about mentorship can be leveraged for better communication between mentor and mentee and for the development of stage-appropriate educational curricula on academic mentorship.