Mentoring Programs a Win for Future Docs, Hospitals, Communities

Mentoring can not only help a child in need, it can also help foster culturally competent, engaged physicians in tune with the particular needs of their communities.

For many disadvantaged youth, the dream of becoming a physician, nurse or pharmacist feels just as out of reach as winning the lottery or marrying a millionaire. But with proper mentoring and role models, hospital leaders can help make a future in healthcare a reality—and, at the same time, improve clinician engagement and even create a pipeline for future hires.

Lynne Holden, MD, a physician who specializes in emergency medicine at Montefiore Medical Center the Bronx, NY and president and executive director of Mentoring in Medicine, Inc., was introduced to her first mentors by an aunt who dreamed of helping her niece fulfill her childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

Holden's aunt, a nurse, persuaded two physicians—Muriel Petioni, MD, and Melissa Freeman, MD, to let her 13-year old niece spend her spring break shadowing them as they did their jobs. Both agreed, and both remained mentors to Holden throughout her career, guiding her at every step from teaching her how to study to helping her create mentoring opportunities for the next generation of clinicians.

"It was through watching them that I decided [being a physician] was amazing, and that I wanted to be like them," Holden recalls. "I looked at them and saw myself." Inspired by her experiences, Holden founded Mentoring in Medicine, Inc., to help raise awareness of the need for mentors in healthcare.

Age-Appropriate Mentoring
Mentoring can begin as young as in elementary school, says Holden, and the earlier the better. "Medicine in general is a field where you have to look and act a certain way," explains Holden. "You have to know how to play the game. Not all children are raised in an environment where they have that sort of tutelage."

In elementary and middle school, it's important that children learn how to be a leader, interact with their peers and respect authority—all things a mentor or mentoring program can assist with. "They need to know how to color inside the lines," says Holden.

Elementary school is the perfect time to take advantage of a child's natural curiosity and expose her to the possibility of a career in health or science [or technology]. After school programs are popular for this age group—and can help keep kids occupied and out of trouble.

High school age level is perfect for lunch-and-learn programs about health careers, school clubs, and volunteer programs. "If [your organization] can come up with some time… to spread the word about whatever interests these kids, do it!" urges Holden.

In college, the tone of mentoring shifts from keeping kids involved and engaging their curiosity to setting the course for academic and professional development. It has more to do with helping students apply for admission to programs. Holden says, "We need to ask them, 'what do you need to do during the summer? What classes do you need to take?'"

By the time a student reaches medical school, she should know which specialty she wishes to enter, which professional organizations she needs to join, and should know people within her chosen specialty, both locally and nationally, says Holden. "When [the student's] name comes across the table for a residency program, they should be a known entity."

A Place for Human Resources
Youth who go through local mentoring programs and complete their education often feel drawn to return to their communities for residencies or to practice medicine, often feeling a strong desire to practice alongside the mentors of their youth.

Also, professionals with local ties understand the needs of a community and its unique culture. They are also likely to be engaged in both the community and the organization for which they work and to love what they do.

"If you start to groom someone early for a place at your hospital, you probably won't have to waste a lot of money on a search firm," says Holden. "You'll have the cream of the crop right there."

Mentoring programs, however, are often siloed within departments, a practice which prevents other areas of the hospital or Human Resources departments from meeting potential clinicians. There may be multiple potential candidates from a position who have gone through mentoring programs in an organization, but only one who is known to hiring managers. This can be rectified through better collaboration between departments' mentoring programs and HR.

A major first step can be taking a survey of all current mentoring programs, meeting with their departmental leaders, and working out a plan to keep communication between each program and HR steady and active.

An additional benefit of this, says Holden, is knowing something about potential candidates before they apply. "We've had some students who have applied that didn't make it past volunteer office…. if they apply again, a red flag will go up…. You get to know people by their work ethic, their personality, and how they work under stress," she says.

Mentoring is a major win-win-win for hospitals, communities, and tomorrow's healthcare leaders. And, if it sets hiring managers up with known candidates who are culturally competent and engaged in their communities—well, that's just an added plus.