{"id":4148,"date":"2012-12-05T07:53:14","date_gmt":"2012-12-05T06:53:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=4148"},"modified":"2012-12-05T07:53:14","modified_gmt":"2012-12-05T06:53:14","slug":"medical-students-and-sports-medicine-the-desperate-need-for-improved-access-to-mentors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2012\/12\/05\/medical-students-and-sports-medicine-the-desperate-need-for-improved-access-to-mentors\/","title":{"rendered":"Medical students and sports medicine \u2013 The desperate need for improved access to mentors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Undergraduate perspective on Sports & Exercise Medicine<\/span> –<\/span><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em>a BJSM blog series<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

By Matthew Gray<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You may well have read the recent blog post<\/a> or listened to the even more recent podcast<\/a> featuring Cardiff medical student and Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) enthusiast Liam West. Although heavily summarising, Liam\u2019s overarching conclusion was that students interested in SEM should be enthusiastic and proactive<\/strong> in gaining exposure in the speciality. Liam also puts forward a number of the many \u201cchallenges\u201d that undergraduates face in their struggle for SEM success. These included the topic to which this post relates – the lack of mentors and shadowing experience available to students.<\/p>\n

\"\"Why does it matter?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s pretty clear that in order to attract the very best students, SEM must come across as a speciality that is enthusiastic and inclusive. The part to be played by positive role models for students in achieving this cannot be overstated. It\u2019s interesting that both enthusiasm and approachability have been shown to rank amongst the highest of the characteristics sought by undergraduate students in a role model, albeit in a surgical context [1]. Positive role models also have a significant impact on student decisions regarding future careers [1, 2].<\/p>\n

Although there is an impression amongst students of a lack of SEM mentors, the widespread enthusiasm projected by the BJSM community in general potentially suggests the opposite. It seems quite likely that there are many SEM clinicians out there keen to offer their invaluable advice and mentorship to undergraduates; it\u2019s just that at the moment, there is no foolproof way of connecting the two.<\/p>\n

Why can\u2019t students take steps to contact clinicians under their own steam?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

There is no doubt that students should definitely be using their initiative to get in touch with clinicians, but there are often a number of challenges:<\/p>\n