in IR, especially if there is a lack of representation at the faculty level.


Distance mentorship Distance mentorship connects mentors and mentees who live in different cities or countries and is comprised of telephone or virtual meetings. While distance mentors may not be able to devote as much time as in-person mentors, they can offer different perspectives on the mentee’s professional and personal dilemmas, and their advice is less likely to be biased by the mentor and mentee sharing the same work environment.6


when it comes time for interviews. In addition to the above, mentors can act as role models, support, friends, figures of intellectual honesty and models for emotional intelligence6


—important


characteristics for the professional and personal lives of IRs-in-training.


In his Dotter Lecture, Dr. Salem discussed the qualities of a great mentor. Great mentors listen and understand, he said, even when mentees cannot adequately verbalize their challenges. Mentors do not impose explicit guidance but help perfect thinking skills and help find solutions. Finally, great mentors encourage reasonable, intellectually-curious risk- taking, thus paving the way for mentees to make a significant impact.3


“At the heart of my interaction is a deep and sincere investment in you, to have you function at the highest level on the path of your choosing,” Dr. Salem said. “To accomplish things deemed impossible by first breaking them down into a concatenated series of simple components, each with its own challenge.”3


Want accessible mentorship at your fingertips? Sign up for SIR's Mentor Match platform.


26 IRQ | SPRING 2023


Models for mentorship The traditional apprenticeship model, where the trainee learns by observing the skills of the mentor, is all but obsolete due to the evolving clinical, academic and educational climate of modern IR. Today, each mentee-to- mentor relationship for medical students and residents in IR looks different. There are various models for mentorship available for IRs-in-training, and many may find their relationships are an amalgamation of these formats.


Senior mentorship Senior mentorship is perhaps the most common model, where a well-established IR utilizes their personal and professional experiences to provide guidance. These relationships are useful for networking and professional advancement and may look like a faculty mentoring a resident or medical student, or a resident mentoring a medical student.


Peer mentorship Peer mentorship is established within one’s peer group,6


such as a chief


resident mentoring an intern, or a fourth-year medical student mentoring a pre-clinical student. Peer mentorship is unique in that it breaks the formalities and hierarchical barriers so that one can more candidly share their concerns without fear of disappointing influential people.6


This model is beneficial for women and underrepresented minorities


Micromentorship Micromentorship is an informal model where the relationship changes based on the trainee’s goals at hand and is composed of brief and focused communications such as emails or text messages.7


Since IR is a rapidly growing and expanding field, it is important for IRs-in-training to have mentors at different stages of their careers. Residents are more likely than senior faculty to understand the challenges faced by medical students, while senior faculty will have better research opportunities. Senior faculty may be able to offer residents better networking opportunities, while early career faculty may have better strategies to help residents overcome the day-to-day pressures they face. Further, it may take multiple mentors for a trainee in IR to get what they need to grow.


Perspectives on mentorship Medical students Mentorship for medical students is invaluable as they navigate the challenging path from pre- clinical studies, clinical rotations, IR subinternships and the competitive IR residency match. For pre-clinical students during their first and second years of medical school, residents and senior students pursuing IR offer up-to- date advice on study strategies for their courses and standardized exams, as well as how to get involved with the SIR’s Medical Student Council (MSC). They help third-year students prepare for core rotations, such as surgery and internal medicine, and help first-timers


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