Career and Life Planning Guidebook for Medical Residents

The better the mentor understands the mentee's goals, motivations, and life in general, the more personalized the guidance provided will be. The more the mentee understands about the mentor, the better they can place any advice received in context.. – Jason Napolitano, MD Assistant Dean for Student Affairs David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (Source :http://md.careers/resident360nejm ) F I E L D N O T E S Essentially, a mentor has a skillset and level of expertise in an area that you would like to develop; they help you to get where you want to be by sharing their experience, advice, guidance, and support with you. A coach more often advises you on what to do, when and how to do it, and they generally have a good understanding of what it will take for you to advance your skills or abilities in a targeted area. A sponsor , alternatively, believes in you and your abilities and they sing your praises in letting others know that you are ready for another opportunity as they discuss your strengths and potential. Most of us need a combination of these kind of advisors in our success network. These three supportive roles are not to be confused with the ‘tor’-mentor who is to be avoided at all costs. Tor-mentors are people who want to be good mentors but are lacking in some fundamental way. They may simply not have a track record of success, fail to hold you accountable, avoid “walking their own talk” or may just be incapable of mentoring in such a way that gets you from where you are now to where you want to be. They may be repetitive, self-aggrandizing or overly ‘me’ focused. Your job in these relationships is to exit gracefully while allowing the mentor to save face. We know that at different points in your career, you may need different types of support, so it is worth keeping in mind if one of these types may be a source of growth for you. Remember, the way the relationship unfolds and where you seek help is entirely up to you. The perfect mentor might be informal and in the office next door, or you might choose to hire an external coach. The possibilities are endless. Success Networks and the Learning Cycle: We encourage you to think about your career as a series of not just job roles but of corresponding mini-learning cycles (e.g., being a resident involves a learning cycle that ends after several intense years when you become a practicing physician, at which point a new cycle begins). When thought of in this manner, it is possible to anticipate and consider the types of advisory support that you will likely need Your Success Network 405 WWW.PHYSICIANCAREERPLANNING.COM