{"id":1410,"date":"2017-09-26T14:45:37","date_gmt":"2017-09-26T14:45:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/?p=1410"},"modified":"2017-11-06T17:56:40","modified_gmt":"2017-11-06T17:56:40","slug":"evidence-based-mentoring-aspiring-academics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/09\/26\/evidence-based-mentoring-aspiring-academics\/","title":{"rendered":"Evidence based mentoring for \u201caspiring academics\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

CEBM deputy director\u00a0Kamal R. Mahtani<\/a>\u00a0writes on the value of mentoring.<\/em><\/p>\n

There are times in our careers when we are not sure what to do next, whoever we are. We may lack experience or the confidence to decide what to do; or we may have made a decision and need a word of advice from someone more experienced, reassuring us that the idea was sensible. At such times, having a mentor to advise, guide, or simply assuage our uncertainties, can be the key to taking the next steps successfully and enhancing our professional development.What is mentoring?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is mentoring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mentoring is distinct from the process of coaching, although both are considered important in the development of\u00a0healthcare leaders<\/a>. The\u00a0NHS Leadership Academy<\/a>\u00a0describes coaching as \u201ca method of developing an individual\u2019s capabilities in order to facilitate the achievement of organisational success<\/a>.\u201d In\u00a0contrast<\/a>,\u00a0mentoring<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is much more focused around personal development and the success of the individual; it tends to be more informal, usually involves a mentor who is more experienced and (often) in the same field, and usually takes place over a reasonable length of time, months, or even years.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Evidence-based mentoring<\/strong><\/p>\n

The late\u00a0David Sackett<\/a>, regarded by many as \u201cthe father of evidence-based medicine<\/a>,\u201d or at least one of them, saw effective mentoring as\u00a0an essential<\/a>\u00a0component in the development of future leaders of clinical research.\u00a0In his final interview<\/a>, he highlighted several times during his own career when he had been mentored and the effect this had had on him. What was particularly telling was that, despite his many\u00a0accolades<\/a>, he described the mentoring of over 300 \u201caspiring academics\u201d as the most fulfilling element of his career.<\/p>\n

But what is the evidence for mentoring?\u00a0A 2006 systematic review<\/a>, of mostly cross-sectional surveys, of variable quality, explored the effect of mentorship on career development in academic clinical medicine. Mentorship was found to be of value to personal development, career guidance, and career choice, as well as publication and grant success.<\/p>\n

Another systematic review<\/a>\u00a0explored the meaning and characteristics of mentoring. The findings suggested that the characteristics of a good mentor spanned three dimensions and included:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Personal\u2014being altruistic, understanding, patient, honest, responsive, trustworthy, nonjudgmental, reliable, motivational, and an active listener.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Relational\u2014being accessible, sincerely dedicated to developing an important relationship with the mentee, sincerely wanting to offer help in the mentee\u2019s best interests, able to identify potential strengths in the mentee, able to assist mentees in defining and reaching goals, promoting a high standard for the mentee\u2019s achievements, and being compatible (\u201ca good match\u201d) in terms of practice style, vision, and personality.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Professional\u2014senior and well-respected in their field, knowledgeable and experienced.<\/p>\n

Beyond the characteristics, the review also explored the expected roles of a good mentor, which encompassed two themes: those at a personal level and those at an institutional level. For the former, the evidence suggested that a mentor\u2019s role included helping create a safe environment for mentees to express emotions and share thoughts honestly, providing moral support, promoting vision building and goal setting, and signposting to skills development. Mentors also promoted mentees in their institutional and wider academic network, through opportunities for collaboration and access to higher academic circles.<\/p>\n

And what of the characteristics of receptive mentees?\u00a0A qualitative study<\/a>\u00a0showed that mentees should be open to feedback and active listeners, respectful of their mentor\u2019s time and input, and prepared to take responsibility for the focus of the advice they are seeking.<\/p>\n

The evidence thus presented points to several benefits of mentoring. But this needs to be good mentoring. Ineffective or failed mentoring relationships\u00a0have been described<\/a>\u00a0as leading to feelings of disillusionment with the possibility of future mentoring opportunities or, in some cases, a change of career.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

David Sackett and his mentoring legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the value that David Sackett put on good mentoring, it is not surprising that he\u00a0wrote several articles<\/a>\u00a0and a\u00a0book<\/a>\u00a0on the subject. But what of his own style of mentoring? Two of his mentees, both well-established professors, mentors, and proponents of\u00a0evidence-based medicine<\/a>\u00a0themselves, recently\u00a0reflected<\/a>\u00a0on their experiences as mentees of Sackett. They summarised (and I have interpreted) what they learned about being a mentor in six points:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Infect the young\u2014<\/em><\/strong>Create opportunities for early career healthcare practitioners to become enthusiastic about what they practise and learn, whether individually or in groups.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Provide opportunities\u2014<\/strong><\/em>Be altruistic. Ensure the provision of fair opportunities and support for mentees to develop career-enhancing skills and their own research profile. Whether through co-authoring, collaborating, conference speaking, or co-teaching. If a mentee takes any opportunities and succeeds, be the first to congratulate them.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Celebrate knowledge gaps\u2014<\/strong><\/em>Create a safe environment where the mentee can honestly say \u201cI don\u2019t know\u201d to a question, then turn this into a structured and supportive learning opportunity so that they can answer the question in the future. Don\u2019t also be afraid to admit your own ignorance.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Manage your time to match your priorities\u2014<\/strong><\/em>Being a successful clinical academic is not easy, but there are\u00a0steps<\/a>\u00a0that can help. A good mentor should provide guidance and advice to their mentees to ensure that a mentee\u2019s personal development goals are kept in sight, even if that means saying \u201cno\u201d to certain, less prioritised, activities. In providing advice do not tell the mentee what to do, but instead, provide signposts and suggestions.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Inject fun into everything\u2014<\/strong><\/em>Remind mentees that being able to design and conduct research that can benefit patient care is a privilege and one that should be enjoyed, because of the successes, and despite the inevitable disappointments, that come with a research career.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0Strive for work-life balance\u2014<\/strong><\/em>Although good mentors should instil in their mentees a sense of enjoyment in their research journey, loving what we do in our professional lives does not give us an excuse to neglect other aspects of our lives. Despite technological advances that allow us to be continuously \u201cconnected\u201d we should never forget the importance of others in our personal lives.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All in all, it seems like very good advice to me.<\/p>\n

\"KamalKamal R Mahtani<\/strong>\u00a0is GP, NIHR clinical lecturer and deputy director of the\u00a0Centre for Evidence Based Medicine<\/a>, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford. He is also deputy director of the\u00a0Oxford International Primary Care Leadership Programme<\/a>\u00a0and a member of the\u00a0Evidence Live 2016<\/a>\u00a0steering committee which this year includes a Future Leaders theme.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

You can follow him on Twitter at\u00a0@krmahtani<\/a><\/p>\n

This blog is being cross posted with the BMJ \u2013\u00a0blogs.bmj.com<\/a>\u00a0and Evidence Live\u00a0evidencelive.org\/blog<\/a><\/p>\n

Competing interests: Kamal Mahtani receives funding from the NIHR SPCR for the Evidence Synthesis Working Group and is Director of a MSc in Systematic reviews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CEBM deputy director\u00a0Kamal R. Mahtani\u00a0writes on the value of mentoring. There are times in our careers when we are not sure what to do next, whoever we are. We may lack experience or the confidence to decide what to do; or we may have made a decision and need a word of advice from someone […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14351,14372],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ebm","category-kamal-mahtani"],"yoast_head":"\nEvidence based mentoring for \u201caspiring academics\u201d - BMJ EBM Spotlight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmjebmspotlight\/2017\/09\/26\/evidence-based-mentoring-aspiring-academics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Evidence based mentoring for \u201caspiring academics\u201d - BMJ EBM Spotlight\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CEBM deputy director\u00a0Kamal R. Mahtani\u00a0writes on the value of mentoring. There are times in our careers when we are not sure what to do next, whoever we are. 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Mahtani\u00a0writes on the value of mentoring. There are times in our careers when we are not sure what to do next, whoever we are. 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