and teaches you and a sponsor will advocate for you.”
Sponsorship can be crucial, especially for women and URMs. As Dr. Daye explains it, a sponsor is someone who will get you opportunities when you aren’t even in the room. Finding IRs all along the spectrum of mentorship to join a board of directors is one of the best ways for a younger IR to get established and learn.
This is why Dr. Daye encourages structured approaches to mentorship, which engage the full breadth of knowledge of the specialty. “I feel very strongly that mentorship needs to come from men and those in more privileged positions.”
Such solutions include mentoring circles, which reduce the barrier for entry by bringing small groups of physicians together to communally mentor each other. Other mentoring groups can have 5–10 people of similar career stages meeting with one or two more senior mentors once a month or so.
Combined with national approaches such as the SIR Mentor Match tool, interested mentees can bypass some of the barriers to mentorship. “Mentor Match is a great tool,” Dr. Daye says. “It’s available when signing up, and it immediately connects people with more established IRs. I’d love to see all members become more engaged with it.”
References
1. Xiang DH, Snyder A, Capua JD, Galla N, Tischfield DJ, Lewis T, Somani S, Sucher A, Ahmed M, Daye D. Mentorship in Interventional Radiology: Addressing Obstacles to Pursuing Research and Innovation Among IR Trainees. Acad Radiol. 2021 Nov 30:S1076-6332(21)00526- 2. doi: 10.1016/
j.acra.2021.10.028. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34862123.
2. Daye D, Lewis T, Tischfield D, Somani S, Sucher A, Galla N, Li H, Kumar V, Rochon P, Ahmed M. Abstract No. 210 Mentoring in interventional radiology: opportunities to engage the next generation through research. JVIR. 2020;31(3):S96.
3. Zhao S, Sun G, Li S, Galla N, Abboud R, Daye D. Abstract No. 581 Gender-based analysis of mentoring in interventional radiology: opportunities to engage the next generation of women in interventional radiology. JVIR. 2021;32(5):S163.
4. Li S, Sun V H, Galla N, Salazar G, Lewis T, Ahmed M, Daye D. Gender-Based Survey Analysis of Research and Mentoring in Interventional Radiology. JVIR.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jvir.2022.01.010
What is Mentor Match?
Mentor Match allows SIR members to network with a mentor or mentee anywhere for a six-month commitment. Members can search by factors such as location, topics, specialty or career stage.
How does it work?
Mentor Match is what you make it. Mentor and mentee matches individually establish what the mentorship will look like: what the key goals are, how often they will communicate and the expectations of both parties.
For more questions and information, visit Mentor Match at
connect.sirweb.org/mentoring.
How to be a good mentee • Take initiative to organize • Be realistic in your goals and communicate them • Ask any questions and be open to feedback • If you disagree with advice, be honest and discuss alternatives. • Follow through actions and report back.
• Be appreciative of your mentor’s time and follow up in the future to let them know how they made a difference.
• Consider becoming a mentor yourself—now or in the future. You don’t have to be a high-level professional with decades of experience to share your knowledge.
How to be a good mentor
• Investigate why you want to mentor. What will you get out of the experience? What do you have to share?
• Answer your mentee’s questions openly and honestly and give examples from your own career.
• Show interest in your mentee—ask questions to gain deeper understanding and gain their trust.
• Offer constructive feedback but be encouraging.
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