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Mentorship in surgical training: a systematic review

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Abstract

Objective

This review systematically examines the literature regarding mentor–mentee relationships in surgery.

Background

The usefulness of mentorship in surgical training has been expressed in many articles. However, to date, there has been no systematic review on mentoring surgical trainees. This surgical environment is different from other areas of medicine and requires young surgeons to learn skills not readily available from textbooks. Instead, mentors are a valuable mode of transferring this knowledge to the next generation of surgeons. Thus, mentorship is a worthy area of research and attention.

Methods

We identified all articles discussing mentorship in surgery between January 1985 and August 2010 using PubMed and ISI Web of Knowledge. Predetermined exclusion and inclusion criteria were used to screen articles by title, abstract, and full text in sequence. We extracted the relevant data, and then analyzed the prevalence of major surgical mentoring themes in the literature.

Results

Of the 1,091 unique articles found during our original literature search, 38 were selected for review. The majority (68%) were commentary/editorial articles. The most discussed themes include the desirable qualities of a surgical mentor, the structure of mentor–mentee relationships, and advice for overcoming barriers to mentoring. Much less discussed themes include the desirable traits in a mentee and the appreciation of generational and cultural differences in mentorship.

Conclusions

Several barriers to effective surgical mentoring were identified, such as time constraints and a lack of female mentors. By focusing on the positive traits found in this review, for example, developing formal programs to alleviate time constraints, these barriers can be overcome and effective mentor–mentee relationships can be built. Many articles draw attention to the dying art of mentorship in surgical training programs, and currently, the literature on mentorship in surgery is somewhat scarce. These concerns should serve as motivation to revive mentorship in surgery education and to expand the literature regarding underexplored themes and overcoming the current barriers. Although mentorship may not always take on a structured form, it should not be treated casually because proper mentorship is the foundation for training quality surgeons.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by a Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (K24 AR053120) from the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (to Dr. Kevin C. Chung). We would like to thank Pat Burns for her review of this manuscript.

Disclosure

None of the authors has a financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Plastic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Michigan Health System, 2130 Taubman Center, SPC 5340, 1500 E. Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-5340, USA

    Pouya Entezami, Lauren E. Franzblau & Kevin C. Chung

Authors
  1. Pouya Entezami
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  2. Lauren E. Franzblau
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  3. Kevin C. Chung
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Correspondence to Kevin C. Chung.

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Entezami, P., Franzblau, L.E. & Chung, K.C. Mentorship in surgical training: a systematic review. HAND 7, 30–36 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11552-011-9379-8

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