Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

Why Does Mentoring and a Success Network Matter? Decades of research show that mentoring relationships matters for careers. When you have a mentor, youoften earn a higher salary, get promoted more quickly, and are more satisfied. However as careers have changed, our understanding of mentoring and what you need to get you through career transitions has changed. Because we all need the right career support in a timely fashion, it only makes sense that even the best mentor could not possibly advise you on everything. “It takes a village,” or a network, to lead you through. Instead of finding that one perfect mentor, we encourage you to consider the concept of an enhanced success network . Since your transition involves both career and life changes, we recommend that you seek helpful relationships across both the work and life domains. We all needmany forms of support to be successful. While your workplace support is generally informal and unpaid (unless you are in a formal mentoring program), your “non-work” or external support may include family and friends, colleagues in other workplaces, and paid assistance from financial advisors, accountants, attorneys, etc. Support for your work may have come from your assigned residency advisors, former professors, peers, nurses, and hospital or office staff to name a few. You may also have had external advisors, friends in or outside the medical field, family, spiritual advisors, etc. Your enhanced success network may include a mentor, but it will likely also include those in leadership roles who could provide critical sponsorship —increasing your visibility, connecting you with talented others, and advocating for you in your career development. It may also include role models; people whose careers you admire or for whom you imagine yourself on a similar path. Finally, a healthy enhanced success network will include personal support; those relationships that provide you with the emotional support, guidance and friendship essential for your well-being. It will be important to build a success network within your new organization, whether it is a hospital or private practice setting, though you will also need to find people in your community to support your transition as well. These external advisors may be unpaid (e.g., friends, neighbors, family) or paid (e.g., financial advisor, accountant, legal counsel, life coach). We will start with an evaluation of your current network, then consider how to enhance, change, and grow your network to succeed in this next transition and beyond. Your Success Network 391 WWW.PHYSICIANCAREERPLANNING.COM