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. 2025 Feb 28;16(1):103-105.
doi: 10.36834/cmej.79339. eCollection 2025 Feb.

Six ways to get a grip on a mentorship program for residents and faculty

Lea Harper  1 , Christopher A Hergott  2 , Sylvain Coderre  3 , Kenna Kelly-Turner  4 , Melinda Davis  5 , Kevin McLaughlin  6
Affiliations

Six ways to get a grip on a mentorship program for residents and faculty

Lea Harper et al. Can Med Educ J. .

Abstract
in English, French

Mentorship is recognized as beneficial to the personal and professional development of physicians. It has been shown to positively influence career success and research productivity for the mentee, while being associated with increased job satisfaction and lower risk of burnout for the mentor. At an institutional level, when aligned with strategic priorities, mentorship can facilitate gender and racial equality, and improve faculty retention. Consequently, there are calls to prioritize and formalize mentorship, yet the optimal way to achieve this remains elusive. How exactly do we create a mentorship program that is viewed as effective from the perspective of the mentor, mentee, and the institution? In this article we approach mentorship as a complex system, and through this lens we aim to provide medical educators and leaders with guidance on how to create and evaluate a program that provides mentees with distributed and precision mentoring, while also aligning with institutional priorities.

Le mentorat est reconnu comme bénéfique pour le développement personnel et professionnel des médecins. Il a été démontré qu'il influence positivement le succès de la carrière et la productivité en recherche du/de la mentoré(e), tout en étant associé à une plus grande satisfaction professionnelle et à un risque plus faible d'épuisement professionnel pour le/la mentor(e). Au niveau institutionnel, lorsqu'il s’harmonise aux priorités stratégiques, le mentorat peut faciliter l'égalité des sexes et des races, et favoriser la rétention des membres du corps professoral. Par conséquent, il y a une demande pour prioriser et officialiser le mentorat, mais la meilleure façon d'y parvenir reste difficile à établir. Comment créer un programme de mentorat qui soit considéré comme efficace du point de vue du/de la mentor(e), de la personne mentorée et de l'institution ? Dans cet article, nous abordons le mentorat comme un système complexe et, sous cet angle, nous visons à fournir aux formateurs et aux responsables médicaux des conseils sur la façon de créer et d'évaluer un programme qui offre aux mentorés un mentorat réparti et adapté, tout en s'harmonisant aux priorités institutionnelles.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest to disclose

References

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