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MENTORING IN PEDIATRICS. Timothy Gibson, MD Pediatric Hospitalist Division UMassMemorial Children’s Medical Center MCAAP Conference, November 2, 2013. Mentoring at UMass: The Learning Communities. Advising at UMass Medical School dysfunctional until LC: 400 students, 300 advisors
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MENTORING IN PEDIATRICS Timothy Gibson, MD Pediatric Hospitalist Division UMassMemorial Children’s Medical Center MCAAP Conference, November 2, 2013
Mentoring at UMass: The Learning Communities • Advising at UMass Medical School dysfunctional until LC: 400 students, 300 advisors • School’s commitment to LC: 20 faculty members have 25% protected time for advising and teaching activities • Meet students on day 1: Longitudinal advising, and we teach them their Physical Diagnosis and Doctoring Course at UMass. We know our students better than any UMass faculty has ever known students • We are called their “Mentors” from day one. Anyone else other than me have an objection to that?
The Process of Mentoring • Rose, et. al., defined mentoring as a “naturally formed, one-to-one, mutual, committed, relationship between a junior and senior person designed to promote personal and professional development beyond any particular curricular or institutional goals” • Can you mentor someone outside of your field? What if they don’t have a field • Is mentoring an obligation of ours? • Identification of a mentor: can one be assigned? Can you have more than one mentor? Is there a difference between an advisor and a mentor? • As a faculty member, give the student or resident the opportunity and motivation to choose you as a mentor
Opportunities for mentors (can’t believe these seem to be profound) • Relate personal stories, especially as they relate to the “hidden curriculum”, or anything “not in the textbooks”. • Imparting wisdom indirectly through behaviors, attitudes and perspectives. (Community hospital example, “rising above” example) • Give real world perspective of eventual career specifics (e.g. surgery) • Empathize: have to remember what it was like in their shoes • Inspire, sometimes by surprising • Talk about salaries, finances
Mentoring in Pediatrics • 90-95% of students on surveys rate mentoring as important or very important (Aagaard, et. al, 2003) • Students who don’t have a defined mentor cite limited faculty contact in the pre-clinical years and short exposures during clerkships, along with discomfort asking for mentoring as major reasons for not having identified a mentor. (Igartua, 1997). These things can all be remedied easily from the faculty end • Students who have mentors assigned cite incompatibility as the biggest barrier to a successful relationship. • Literature suggests that mentoring and role modeling very important in medical student’s decisions to enter primary care fields, including pediatrics. • Debt also associated strongly with student’s career paths (? Another role for mentoring?)
My own personal tips for successful mentoring • Seek out opportunities to be cast in the “Mentor” light • Start by insisting that the interaction be between colleagues: First names a must! • Be a role model (Ricer, 1998): have potential mentees see you at your best • Take the initiative, because learners won’t (also recognize the signs that your initiative is not reciprocated) • Use novel methods to immerse yourself (eg. Walking down student hallway, scheduling) • Check in, use whatever method seems natural text when appropriate) • Look for signs that the mentee needs more. • Know your limitations as a mentor • Play your role correctly (Pediatrics vs. Career mentoring)