They Have Benefitted from Being Mentors and Mentees
As National Mentoring Month closes, we present these thoughts from stakeholders who have benefitted from being mentees and mentors.
Sanjeev Bhalla, MD
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis
Mentorship comes in the form of learning the specialty, but it also comes in the form of learning how to perform in the specialty. We learn what’s important from those who came in front of us, but we also know how to successfully interact with other physicians based on what we’ve observed. I think that this is the importance of understanding, modeling in the academic environment, and even in the private practice environment. Those we mentor behave in manners similar to what they have observed. Whether we mentor virtually or physically, we must always be aware of our tone. On the flipside, those being mentored must realize that they have a part in the compact. One needs to be receptive if they wish to be mentored successfully. In my mind, a great mentoring partnership is the most valuable way to learn.
Yasha Gupta, MD
Valley Breast Care and Women’s Health Center, Los Angeles
Mentorship has played an extremely important role in my career, whether I’ve been a mentor or a mentee. As I have been navigating these first years of my career, I have found that my mentors have guided me through not only career shifts, but also my role outside of radiology as a mother. Balancing both motherhood and new attending duties has been a challenge that really nothing could have prepared me for. Luckily, I have had strong (male and female!) mentors who have continued to guide me, even when I felt my own priorities shifting. The support has been invaluable and has helped me maintain a sense of confidence in myself and in my career. I hope to bring these experiences into my own mentor-mentee relationships and meet my mentees where they are, while supporting them by giving them access to a number of opportunities within radiology that may fit their interests.
Michael LeCompte, MD
Southeast Radiation Oncology Group, Charlotte, North Carolina
As I transition from residency to early career physician, I only appreciate mentor-mentee relationships more. Early in your career, one faces many questions related to clinical and nonclinical problems for the first time as the chief decision maker. Whether it is patient interactions, teaching, research, or working with other team members, I often find myself trying to emulate the best qualities of each mentor I have worked with. Strong professional mentor-mentee relationships are often built on the trust that both will work toward excellence in helping each other improve and accomplish more together. I have also appreciated many mentors who have helped me understand how to better balance life outside of medicine, especially during challenging career transitions and major life events. After gaining trust from mentors, I have been fortunate that some also helped me through sponsorship, which has opened doors for me in my career that I did not know existed. With gratitude as I transition to being an early career physician, I look forward to being a more active mentor and sponsor to those who are at earlier stages in their pathway in medicine.
