Mentorship: a surgeon’s tool of trade

Abstract

Training competent and compassionate
surgeons is a complex, multifaceted process.
Mentorship has been shown to have an
impact on career selection, job satisfaction,
‘hidden curriculum’ on professionalism and
psychosocial support. In academic
surgery, mentorship has been shown to
improve patient care, academic promotion
enhancing faculty retention and diversity,
research productivity and leadership. The
surgical environment, combined with
operating room stressors, make the specialty
unique and challenging for trainees,
emphasizing the importance of mentorship.