Physician Mentorship

Having a mentor on the pre-med journey is so important. A mentor can help provide direction for you and be a source of knowledge, encouragement, and opportunities. While mentors can hold any job or title, as a pre-med student, having a mentor who is a physician would be a great asset. Who better to help you on your path to becoming a physician than someone who has already made it?!?  

The benefits of having a physician mentor. 

There are many benefits to having a physician as a mentor. Importantly, this person can help you determine if a career in medicine is really for you. You should be so comfortable with your mentor that you can have candid conversations about why they chose a career in medicine and what they like and dislike about their job. Physician mentors can also help you decide if medicine is right for you by providing you opportunities to shadow and get medical exposure. Because all of your shadowing shouldn’t necessarily be with one person, a mentor may also come in handy with helping you to identify other physicians to shadow too. They have to have some “doctor friends” that they can set you up with, right? Likewise, especially if they are in academics, they may have research opportunities that you can join in as well. Another benefit of a physician mentor is that they can provide useful and honest feedback and advice along the journey. After all, they’ve been through this process and, clearly, they know what it takes to get into, and through, medical school. A mentor is also someone who would be a great writer of a letter of recommendation for you. If you have a strong and genuine relationship, they should know you well enough to speak about your character, experience, and ability to excel in medical school.  

Do they have to look like me? 

Certainly not! We know there’s a shortage of Black physicians (that’s why I created the blog, right?) and this may be more pronounced where you live. So, you may not be able to find a Black physician to serve as your mentor. That’s okay! Or you may have an experience with a non-Black physician and you two form a great relationship. Hello! This person should be your mentor!  While I do think there is a special bond with Black pre-med students pairing with a Black physician who you may have shared experiences with and who may better understand some of your concerns, there is NO rule that your mentor has to look like you. Black, white, brown or purple; male, female, or other. It doesn’t matter!! If you get along well and you truly feel that they care about you and your future and helping you to reach your goals- they should be your mentor. 

Does their specialty matter? 

In a word, no. Don’t get bogged down in specially at this point. Now, of course if you find a mentor in the same field that you think you want to go into, that’s great. Having them serve as your mentor would give you an up-close look at what the career and life of someone in that field is like. But let’s be real, at this point, how sure are you that you really even know which specialty you want to pursue? For the majority of people, they don’t figure that out until they’re on rotations during 3^rd year.  Really, at this point, the biggest role of the mentor is support and to help you through the pre-med/medical school process. Where you are right now and the mentorship that you need is essentially the same whether you end up being a psychiatrist or a cardiothoracic surgeon.

How do I find a mentor? 

There are a couple ways to find a mentor, here are a few. You may have had a chance to shadow someone who you’d like to check in with regularly and ask for advice and direction along your journey. Simply ask them if they would be willing to mentor you as you work towards acceptance to medical school and becoming a doctor. Most people are usually flattered at this request and will jump at the opportunity to help you get to where they are. But if they say that they don’t have time to dedicate to it, that’s okay too! You want someone who will really be hands-on and helpful, not someone simply going through the motions. Tell them thanks anyways and keep it moving! 

If you’re in a minority pre-med organization at your school (you should be, see earlier post!), you will likely have local physicians who give talks to your group. Some may offer to answer questions or meet with interested students in the future- ding, ding, ding! Local societies of Black physicians usually have mentoring committees and may sponsor events for pre-med students- they would make great mentors. Your pediatrician or family physician who’s known you your whole life would make a great mentor. You should be sharing with them your desire to be a physician anyways and they just may offer “any help if you need it.” Well, if you need a mentor, there’s how they can help!

What if I can’t find a mentor? 

Go back through that list above. Did you open your mouth and actually ask people if they’d be willing to offer your mentorship and guidance? Check with your pre-health advisor to see if there are local physicians who regularly serve as mentors to students from your college. In the last few months since I’ve been back on social media, I’ve realized that there are several physicians out there who are giving really good pre-med advice. Some are doing this as individuals, while others are part of a group or organization that offers personal mentorship to students. Make sure they’re legit, then check them out! This is fine, it’s great actually if they’re giving worthwhile advice (and you can verify that they’re actually a physician and not an imposter!). What is NOT fine is paying someone to be your mentor. We don’t have time or money for that. You want someone who is invested in you and your goal, not there just because you’re paying them!  

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In summary, physician mentorship is invaluable. I really cherish the opportunity to serve as a mentor to pre-med students. I realize that I’m blessed to be a physician and I consider it my professional and personal responsibility to help others, especially those who look like me and who will reduce the Black physician shortage, reach their goal as well. If COVID hasn’t taught us anything else, we realize now that we don’t have to be face-to-face with people to do a lot of things. I’ve had many Zoom visits with my mentees recently to check in on them and love getting to work with them on their journey. This should go without saying, as the name implies, I’m happy to help always. Feel free to shoot me an email anytime.  

Do you have other ideas on mentoring? Or a story about how having a mentor has helped you? Feel free to share in the comments section below!