Serving as a mentor is a valuable role in encouraging and guiding the next generation of dermatologists. However, the great demand for mentorship can leave mentors feeling overwhelmed. So is mentorship even worth a practicing dermatologist’s time? What’s an expert mentor’s advice on how medical students can get the most out of a mentoring relationship?
For a mentor’s perspective on the two-way street of mentorship, I interviewed Amy McMichael, MD, FAAD, professor of dermatology at Wake Forest School of Medicine, and author of the new book, Perfect Match: Secure Your Residency Spot & Achieve Greatness in Dermatology.
What inspired you to write Perfect Match?
This book was inspired by my experiences mentoring students over the years. I have had more and more students contact me each year for insights on applying to dermatology because it is such a competitive specialty. I often meet with students for half an hour and feel that there is so much more to discuss. This was a way to provide that back story of many things that need to be considered when applying for dermatology residency.
I also wanted to stress that the goal is to be the best medical student you can be rather than thinking about the stress of residency applications all the time. The final reason I wrote this book is to inspire minoritized students who are not always prepared in the same way as other students both prior to and during medical school.
What are the most common questions that medical students ask you?
Medical students often ask me about my journey. I am not sure why this is germane, since I applied to residency and completed training so long ago. Because this has been a common question, I added information about my college and medical school experiences. Hopefully, these stories illustrate something for the readers about resilience in the face of challenges like discrimination and other stressors.
Other common questions are more transactional, so I have included many of these discussions in the second half of the book. These chapters discuss considerations about finding mentors, how to make sure you are your best on rotations, how to ask for letters of recommendation, writing a personal statement, and many other important technical topics.
In your experience, what are mentees looking for from you and in what areas is there a disconnect?
Mentees often ask about mentorship for research projects. They have heard that programs are looking for research experience, and they are looking for any opportunity to get publications. The disconnect here is that no one mentor can mentor more than a few mentees at a time on research projects. So, I help them figure out what they can do on their own or with the mentorship that they can find at their own institution, even if they do not have a dermatology department at their medical school.
It is a delicate balance, so, sometimes, it is important to recommend taking a year for research, and that is something I discuss in the book.
In your 30-year career, how have you seen medical students’ requests change?
Medical students are much savvier now than in years past. They attend and present at medical meetings. And they want to know how to mix and mingle with other mentors at these meetings.
They reach out to experts in the field to get mentorship, and they are more knowledgeable about what different residency programs offer than in the past.
In my day, I did not attend medical meetings in dermatology unless they were at my medical school. I certainly did not understand the internal workings of authorship, statistics, and publication standards.
With online listings about programs, there is some good information and some information that is not necessarily correct. Mentees often ask about programs to get the inside information about training.
What are your biggest frustrations in mentoring medical students?
There are so many students who need mentoring, it is difficult to meet one on one with all of them. Again, this was part of the reason for the book. At our department, our chair has moved to advising pods where more than one student will be assigned to a faculty member and a resident, so that they can get what they need without trying to speak to every faculty member and every resident separately. Other organizations are moving to this format as well, including the Skin of Color Society (of which I am a member and a former president), one of the premiere organizations mentoring applicants to the specialty.
How can medical students get the most out of a mentoring experience?
It is important for mentees to pick the correct mentor. I discuss this in my book, Perfect Match, extensively. They should not pick someone who is a well-known dermatologist unless their mentoring style is appropriate for that student and the mentor has a good track record for mentoring. The best mentor may be someone who is not as well known, but who has an interest in working with students and other early learners.
Another caveat I discuss in the book is keeping up the mentee end of the bargain. The mentee must take responsibility for scheduling meetings and completing the discussed tasks.
What practical skills and soft skills does mentoring provide?
Practical skills learned from mentoring allow the mentor to keep up with the concerns of the younger generation entering our field. It can also allow give meaning that is different from your daily routine of seeing patients, giving you the chance to stretch different muscles.
Finally, it can allow the mentor to feel helpful. A long career is good for more than the clinical experience. It is also good for sharing lessons about long-term career and family choices.
How can medical students go about securing a mentor?
For one thing, they can read my book!
They can also schedule a meeting with the dermatology program director at their medical school and ask about recommendations. If that is not possible because they are not at a school with a dermatology department, they can use resources at the American Academy of Dermatology, Skin of Color Society, Pediatric Dermatology Society, and Women’s Dermatologic Society (among others) to establish a formal mentorship with dermatologists who are interested in being mentors.
Let’s address the other side. Why should dermatologists and trainees mentor medical students?
The best way to improve medicine is to have savvy and well-prepared physicians entering the field. They need to be ready for leadership roles and to help improve all specialties including dermatology. One way to have this happen is to mentor those coming behind us.
What are the benefits of mentorship to the mentor?
Mentors learn a lot from their mentees. Not only is the action of helping someone a great gift, seeing that person succeed in their chosen field is even more rewarding. Knowing that I am helping improve the specialty by adding quality people is also a great feeling. I have thrived in my department at Wake Forest because we all have a share belief in reaching back to bring forward great talent in our specialty.
Don’t miss the first “The Two-Way Street of Mentorship” article in which dermatology residents Dr. Samip Sheth and Dr. Priya Uppal provide their take on how medical students can build effective mentorship relationships.
