Mentorship in Medical School
From the first day of medical school, my school deans emphasized the importance of mentorship. At the time, I did not think much about their advice. But as I have progressed through medical school, I have come to realize more and more how impactful and valuable mentorship truly is.
What benefits do mentorship offer?
There are many different types of mentors, and they do not necessarily have to be another physician. Senior medical students can offer advice on how to study for certain classes, how to effectively structure your day, and how to schedule your clerkship schedules. If you are interested in research, a research principle investigator (PI) can provide great guidance on how to proceed in the realm of academics, good research practices, and publications. Of course, a physician mentor or a resident can offer great insight into the nitty gritty of the field and can help you explore your interests. I have found that if you are specifically interested in the details of applying into the specific fields, residents are able to provide the most up to date advice as they recently went through the application cycle.
How can I go about finding mentors?
At many medical schools, students are set up with academic advisors that periodically check in on them. These academic advisors are excellent resources if you have any questions, and often they can point you in the right direction to develop any potential interests. If your school does not have such system, be on the lookout for any office hours or open appointment times that you can set up with members of the faculty. Especially during the preclinical years, you can consider reaching out to any lecturers that you particularly enjoyed. Many times they are enthusiastic to engage with students.
Regarding getting connected with senior medical students, it can initially seem difficult as unlike in college the different years rarely have overlapping curriculum. Many schools have peer mentorship programs, or sometimes student activity groups host independent peer mentorship programs. Most likely, you will be interacting with M4 students as M3 students will be busy completing their clerkship year and M2 students will either be in their clerkship year or studying for board exams like Step 1 and Step 2.
Good research mentors are perhaps one of the hardest types of mentors to find. Given the intricacies of finding a research mentor, I am planning to have another post with a more in-depth discussion. (Article coming soon!)
Final thoughts …
At the end of the day, don’t be too worried about finding the perfect mentor! Especially if you are just starting medical school, take enough time to adjust to the academic rigors. As you progress, there will be plenty of opportunities to meet role model figures. Even if someone is not exactly following the career path you envision for yourself, keep your mind open as they can still offer great perspective about medicine, academics, or even general life.
