Why is mentoring important?
The mentoring relationship is a unique one. A mentor is not meant to only be a counselor or teacher, friend or advisor. A mentor is someone who has more experience than you who is willing to share that in order to encourage you on your way. A mentor can be anyone who will guide your development along your path. You can certainly seek out a mentoring relationship with a faculty member, a physician, a medical student, an admissions representative, a dean, an academic advisor, an older peer, a resident advisor or director, a family friend, or even a family member. For more tips about finding and fostering a solid mentoring relationship, surf to the following sites!
http://healthcareers.about.com/od/advanceyourcareer/qt/FindAMentor.htm
http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/leader/mentor/read/Ten-Rules-for-Mentoring-Relationships.asp
http://birs07.stanford.edu/Mentoring-HOs-for-BIRS-Reimers.pdf
The origins of the word "mentor" go way back in time to ancient Greece and the epic tale of Odysseus (see below).
"The story of Mentor comes from Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus, king of Ithaca, fights in the Trojan War and entrusts the care of his household to Mentor, who serves as teacher and overseer of Odysseus' son, Telemachus.
After the war, Odysseus is condemned to wander vainly for ten years in his attempt to return home. In time, Telemachus, now grown, ventures in search of his father. Athena, Goddess of War and patroness of the arts and industry, assumes the form of Mentor and accompanies Telemachus on his quest. Father and son reunite and cast down would-be usurpers of Odysseus' throne and Telemachus's birthright.
The word Mentor evolved to mean trusted advisor, friend, teacher and wise person. History offers many examples of helpful mentoring relationships: Socrates and Plato, Hayden and Beethoven, Freud and Jung. Mentoring is a fundamental form of human development where one person invests time, energy and personal know-how in assisting the growth and ability of another person.
History and legend record the deeds of princes and kings, but each of us has a birthright to actualize our potential. Through their deeds and work, mentors help us to move toward that actualization."
(Shea, Gordon F. (1997) Mentoring (Rev. Ed.). Menlo Park, CA: Crisp Publication, http://www.hr.emory.edu/eu/employeestoolkit/professionaldevelopment/mentoremory/history.html)
Additional Resources:
SNMA (Creighton Student National Medical Association) Mentoring Program
What: “SNMA has had a longstanding mentorship program that serves minority and disadvantaged premedical students here at Creighton University.” – Tony Betanzos. This program seeks to pair students with current medical students for 1 on 1 mentoring.
For: Minority students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds
Contacts: Tony Betanzos, antoniobetanzos@creighton.edu, Tiffany Nguyen, tiffanynguyen@creighton.edu
Americal Medical Student Association (AMSA):
"I think we can all agree that applying to medical school can be a long, comprehensive and exhausting process. One of the things that premedical and undergraduate students excel at is having the ambition and drive to get involved, down and dirty, and diving head first into opportunities to make a difference and see something new. For more than 50 years, AMSA has been dedicated to serving the needs of physicians-in-training. Premedical students are most certainly physicians-in-training, and are encouraged to join in on the opportunities that AMSA can offer students." (http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/MemberCenter/Premeds.aspx)
Other ways to learn specifically from medical students are:
- Attend panels
- Pre-Med Society and PMED often have medical students at events.
- These events will be announced at PMED and Pre-Med Society meetings.
- Partake in medical school open houses
- Creighton Medical School, in particular, has a large panel of medical students at each open house to answer questions and give tours.
- This event will be announced at PMED and will be well publicized around campus.
Back to PMED 100 Homepage.