Mentorship 101: The Keys To Finding The Perfect Mentor | How Do I Find A Mentor?

Embark on a journey with us as we navigate the crucial world of mentorship in medicine, sharing a tale that will resonate with dreamers and doers alike. Ariana's story serves as a beacon of inspiration, a first-year college student with her sights set on dermatology but needing guidance to illuminate her path. Through our conversation, you'll gain actionable steps on how to forge and strengthen the bonds with mentors who can be the key to unlocking a future in healthcare. We dissect the art of reaching out with purpose, sidestepping common mistakes, and presenting yourself as a mentee worth investing in. 

Our episode goes beyond the surface to reveal the subtleties of mentor-mentee dynamics, emphasizing follow-through, commitment, and the organizational prowess needed to turn these relationships into springboards for success. Hear firsthand how to make an unforgettable impression and what it takes to maintain a connection that can blossom into opportunities like coveted recommendation letters or research positions. As you listen, remember to tap into our community at BlackMedConnect, where your voice adds to the collective pursuit of medical excellence. Subscribe for ongoing guidance and remember, your aspirations are valid, and with the right mentor, entirely achievable.

Transcript

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 0:00

Welcome back to the BlackMed Connect podcast, affectionately known as the B-MED podcast, where we share inspiring stories of black physicians and physicians in training at the intersection of medicine, culture and innovation. So I want to tell you the story of a student named Ariana. She's a first year college student and she's interested in dermatology, but she doesn't know any dermatologists. There weren't any in her family and she's never really met a black dermatologist before. She's passionate about becoming a dermatologist and she has the work ethic, but she needs some more support, and that's where mentors come in. Mentors are experienced individuals that can help, guide, counsel and support someone with less experience. They're often considered a trusted advisor and it's important for a student like Ariana to find mentors to help her navigate to becoming a physician and getting into medical school. Not having a mentor is like trying to get to your destination without putting it in a GPS. You may know where you're going, but you don't know the steps to get there and it's easier to get lost. That's what a mentor and a strong mentor team can help you do, and here are three key tips to finding the mentor to help you along your journey. Tip number one I want you to make a list. Make a list of every single individual who you think could help you along the way. It could be a professor that you've had for a class, it can be a faculty advisor to an organization that you're part of at your school. But just make a list of people who may be able to help you build that connection to a mentor. Don't forget to think about individuals who may be at home that you may not see anymore. It may be a guidance counselor that you had in high school, or even your own physician who took care of you before you started as a pre-med. This list is just a starting point. These individuals may not exactly know how to get you there, but have conversations with them to see if they know individuals to help you get closer and closer to becoming that physician you want to be. So for Ariana, she went to her biology teacher. She let her biology teacher know that she was interested in dermatology. And guess what? Her biology teacher knew? The anatomy teacher. And the anatomy teacher's wife was a dermatologist. But if Ariana hadn't reached out to her biology teacher, she may not have built that connection to finding her first mentor in dermatology. So that's my first tip Make sure you make a list of potential individuals who can help you find a mentor and be a part of your tribe.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 3:03

Tip number two reach out to this individual or this group of individuals with intention. The key part here is with intention. There are so many times where I get emails where individuals may ask for mentorship but they don't know why they need mentorship or what stage they're at or what they're even asking me for. They just send an email because they know it's important to have a mentor. I don't want you to do that. That's what most people do. They don't reach out with intention. Your job is to reach out to this individual, let them know you're excited about what you know about their background and ask them for help in specific areas. So, for instance, for Ariana, she's looking for mentors to help her learn about research opportunities in dermatology. She's also looking for opportunities to shadow a dermatologist. So if she says that in the email to her new potential mentor, that person is very clear about why she wants to meet. So in reaching out to individuals, be sure to reach out with intention.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 4:10

Now there are three traps I want to make sure you avoid when reaching out to potential mentors. Don't get cold feet about this whole process. So many students assume that people are too busy or won't take the time for them, or oh, I'm insignificant, I don't matter. That is not true Most times. People specifically those who are already further along the journey are excited when somebody reaches out because they know they can help them navigate the path better. I know for me. When students ask me can I meet with you to connect about X, y and Z, I make time for students because I know how hard it is to make it across the finish line to med school and beyond. So don't get cold feet about reaching out to people you don't know. Most times it's a welcome to process.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 5:05

The next trap to avoid is reaching out to a person without knowing anything about them. It's really important to do your background homework. It's always critical to Google the person. If a person is a physician, ultimately they have a Google profile that tells you a little bit about their research, a little bit about how they take care of patients and their journey to medicine. So it's easy to put someone's name in and the practice they work at or the university they work for, just to get a little bit more insight before you email them. So don't be the person who reaches out without doing your background homework. Now that we've learned to reach out with intention, let's talk about what a strong mentorship relationship actually looks like. Let's talk about mentorship etiquette.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 5:49

When you're trying to reach out to a person who's a busy, working professional, you need to be professional too. So when you reach out, introduce yourself. Let them know who you are and why you want to meet with them. Share what the common connection is so they can see very clearly why you've reached out and make time for meeting with them. It's really important to set an agenda for the meeting. The day before your meeting, I want you to send a reminder email thanking the person for their time and being enthusiastic about the opportunity to meet with them. This way, if something has changed, especially for the busy doctors, then they'll be able to tell you hey, I may not be able to meet today, but let's reschedule. The reminder email refreshes their memory and gets them ready to meet with you.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 6:38

Next, I want you to show up on time to your meeting, whether it's virtual or in person, and be enthusiastic. Again, most doctors are really busy, so if they're taking the time, it's because they want to make time for you. Ask them good questions. Be very clear about why you want to meet and follow the agenda that you created. That way they can feel like, oh, this person's really organized and they have a plan for why they want to meet with them.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 7:07

Once you've had a great meeting with your mentor, I want you to set up the next meeting during the first meeting with the mentor. Go ahead and ask them is it okay if we meet every month, or is it okay if I reach back out to you in two weeks? How's next Thursday? At blank time. Know your availability up front and know when you want to meet back with the person, so they have a rough idea of the cadence that you're hoping to meet. If they can meet every few weeks or once a month, they'll let you know. If they can't, they may pull back and say I can meet every couple of months, and that way you can at least establish that rhythm of meetings with your potential mentor. The whole purpose of this is to let them know that you're serious about continuing the relationship. I can't tell you how many times I've had mentorship potential meetings and people have said they want to follow up, but then I don't hear from them again. So instead of you being that person who starts a relationship but doesn't continue it, you'll know to set up your next meeting before you finish your first one.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 8:15

One last tip I want to share is make sure you do the task that you discuss with your potential mentor.

Dr. Jasmine Weiss: 8:22

If they tell you to look online and find five research opportunities, then actually complete the task and email the person back and let them know hey, I looked up these five research opportunities Again. That shows your follow through. It shows your commitment and your organization. All of this becomes really important because if you're developing a strong mentor relationship, over time that person may be willing to write you a recommendation letter if you find ways to work closely with them. So from the first meeting and even from the first email, you're trying to make a good impression and show that you're organized and committed to the relationship and your ultimate success, which is the goal. Three key takeaways when finding your mentor are build a list of potential mentors, reach out with intention and be professional and set up your next meeting. Hope you enjoyed this episode of the BlackMedConnect podcast. I want you to do the work of finding your next mentor because they're waiting to connect with you. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe at BlackMedConnect. And until next time, always remember to dream without limits.