Abstract
The world of medicine is in a state of flux with major and substantive changes in
its educational model. Students, residents, and junior attendings can no longer rely
entirely on experiential development through clinical immersion. Instead, to attain
similar levels of knowledge, technique, and situational comfort, there must be innovations
in medical education that take advantage of the experience of mentors. Mentoring has
been a part of medicine and surgery since the days of apprenticeship. Mentors must
now teach more basic medicine than ever before and adapt to changes in the structure
of medical education such as the use of simulation, yet still continue to foster career
development among trainees and junior colleagues. For mentoring to succeed and benefit
mentees, it must be supported. This patronage starts with each local university or
hospital system but eventually must permeate the greater medical culture.
Keywords
mentorship - medical education - training - role model
