Mentoring

[DNA Doc]

Hi all - I'm at the fellowship stage of my training, and I've been thinking lately about mentoring.

 

I think we all need mentors - at every stage of our career. Someone who has "been there" and is willing to donate a little bit of their time to give advice/guidance on a one-to-one basis.

 

Would anyone out there be interested in being matched with a mentor? This site might be just the place to do it.

 

I'd be willing to act as a mentor to anyone who is thinking about Medical Genetics as a career. Contact me privately!

[Jochi1543]

Hey, it's a good idea, but I think most schools are on top of things in terms of matching students with official mentors - and in my experience, finding one on your own is not hard, either. We have all been set up with an advisor (mine's an older general IM doc), and most of us have been lucky to partake in a pilot student-resident project, where we are hooked up with an individual resident to shadow throughout the year. Although my resident and I have certain goals as per the project, we spend a lot more time just talking about stuff, ranging from dating in med school to how to switch residency programs. Although I've heard some residents are not as approachable, I've really enjoyed the experience, so if you are really into setting up a mentorship program at your school, I would try a resident-student match - I know some of my friends at other schools were very interested in it. If you'd like, I have a contact for the person who set up the project at our med school.

[DNA Doc]

Fair enough... still, sometimes one's field of interest is not represented by the available mentors. And sometimes it's easier to talk to someone not quite so senior. Someone a bit closer to what you're going through. And, there's no rule against having more than one mentor!

[ploughboy]

Hi all - I'm at the fellowship stage of my training, and I've been thinking lately about mentoring.

 

I think we all need mentors - at every stage of our career. Someone who has "been there" and is willing to donate a little bit of their time to give advice/guidance on a one-to-one basis.

 

Would anyone out there be interested in being matched with a mentor? This site might be just the place to do it.

 

I'd be willing to act as a mentor to anyone who is thinking about Medical Genetics as a career. Contact me privately!

 

 

Good for you for making yourself available and giving back like that. Kudos.

[liszt]

I think this is a great idea. I don't think Jochi's school is representative of the situation across the country, and it can be pretty difficult to get information on the smaller specialties in particular.

[lostintime]

I think it's an awesome idea, and I haven't heard of any other schools that match students up with residents.

[DNA Doc]

Not sure how to go about doing it, but in the meantime I would suggest that anyone interested in being a mentor or being mentored post here, and maybe people can match up that way.

 

As I mentioned, I've finished my residency in Medical Genetics and am now doing a fellowship in Developmental Peds. So anyone interested in either of those fields should feel free to message me privately.

 

I know people in other specialties too, so I can try to hook you up if you let me know what you're looking for.

[DNA Doc]

So far 2 people have messaged me looking for mentors.

 

I've matched up one and working on the second (both are in fields unrelated to mine).

 

I'd also encourage people to post in this thread what they are looking for. You may want to be specific to the school/city too. Lots of residents read these forums and may know someone or volunteer themselves.

[Jochi1543]

I think it's an awesome idea, and I haven't heard of any other schools that match students up with residents.

 

Yeah, it's part of someone's graduate project here. Someone from this board asked me for info on it so they could set up something similar at U of T and they were shot down immediately after they offered that idea, I don't really understand why - I don't see anything bad about it. It's nice to get insight about residency, since we will all spend a good few years in it.

[medgen]

Hi DNA Doctor,

I have pm`ed you about mentoring.I hope you received it.