MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING CORNER John Del Valle, Section Editor
Personal Perspective on Mentoring Marcia Cruz–Correa University of Puerto Rico Cancer Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
T
hroughout life, mentors are instrumental in facilitating the process of learning, providing guidance and experience, and at times an honest mirror to reflect upon. I have been blessed to have various mentors during each stage of my life that have provided me with inspiration and insightful advice, allowing me to develop to where I stand today. My first mentor and role model was my mother, a natural-born leader. She always surrounded me with an environment of love and respect, enabling me to develop self-confidence. Overall, the simplest way to describe my mother with 2 adjectives is enthusiastic and emphatic. Since I was young, she instilled in me an “Of course, you can do it!” attitude. Sometimes I found her to be a bit hyperbolic, but her mentorship had a profound effect in the way I approached life; it gave me a vision of possibilities. I carried that “plentiful vision” throughout my school years, even when I attempted to pursue ballet as a potential career, despite my limited dancing skills, but strongly encouraged by my mother. Nevertheless, she taught me one of the biggest life lessons I’ve learned to date, “Believe in yourself, prepare to the best of your abilities and persevere.”
Mentors in Our Professional Careers For the purpose of this perspective, I focus on formal and informal mentorship relationships as an invaluable aspect of our professional careers. During our professional training in medical school—residency, gastroenterology fellowship, and beyond—we all learn the very valuable skills of identifying and maintaining successful mentor–mentee relationships. I share with you my own mentorship experiences, which have been the most significant and empowering relationships for my career development. When I started in college based on my presumption of possibilities (attributed to my dear mom), I decided to be a full-time student and also work full-time in a luxury hotel during nights and weekends. I managed somehow to do it,
but as I entered medical school this desire of juggling multiple things at once came back to haunt me and my first year of medical school was less than ideal, almost costing me my medical career. I was given a second chance and a new mentor in life, Dr. Esther A. Torres, a female professor at the University of Puerto Rico, who was instrumental in guiding and giving me the opportunity to gain experience in clinical research (something I did not know much about at that point). The next several years of medical school and internal medicine residency were a blur, working hard to balance career and my young family (I had my only daughter as a third-year medical school student). During those years I also learned to love research and wanted to pursue formal training. I applied and was accepted to the gastroenterology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in a combined doctorate degree program in clinical research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Upon starting my gastroenterology training, I was informed by the fellowship director, Dr. Linda Lee, that I was expected to identify an appropriate career and research mentor to guide me during the fellowship. This was quite daunting; I was new to the university and my area of research interest was yet to be defined. My approach to the task was systematic and I started meeting with diverse faculty members to discuss my research ideas with the goal of identifying someone with whom I was compatible (muchneeded chemistry!) and was willing to serve as my mentor. This required meeting with several potential mentors (12 to be exact), each one with special talents, vision, and wisdom. The search was not easy, because the idea of the “perfect mentor” to satisfy all of my career needs was not realistic because of the type of training and research I wanted to accomplish. I needed to have advice in diverse areas, including overall career guidance, research-specific expertise, endoscopic skills, and epidemiologic proficiency, to name a few. Therefore, finding a mentor who could meet all those needs would require assembling a team of mentors. As I searched for the “perfect mentors,” I realized that there were several characteristics that were very important to make this match work. I understood that availability and affability were as important as knowledge, experience, and a successful clinical or scientific career. I learned that a successful mentor–mentee relationship was based on mutual respect and the mentor’s genuine interest in ones’ career development. I also
© 2014 by the AGA Institute 0016-5085/$36.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2013.12.019
Gastroenterology 2014;146:331–333
MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING CORNER recognized that a mentor–mentee relationship was dynamic and that it evolved over time as needs or expectations from each member of this pair changed, with the ultimate goal of the continued growth of both the mentor and the mentee. Luckily, I was successful in assembling a diverse team of mentors, which guided me during the gastroenterology fellowship and doctorate degree. My 2 main career mentors in gastroenterology were Drs. Francis Giardiello and Anthony Kalloo, who helped me to strike a balance between research rigor and innovation. Furthermore, with them I learned the science and the art (“the yin and the yang”) of academic gastroenterology and how to navigate the road of a physician scientist. After completion of my formal training at Johns Hopkins, I joined the Cleveland Clinic in Florida, where Dr. Steven Wexner, an extraordinary colorectal surgeon who became my inspiration and advisor, mentored me. Those were challenging years, balancing the clinical work and my emerging research enterprise composed basically of a technician, a part-time research nurse, and me. At this point, residents and medical students were my mentees and we were full of hope and eager to advance the science. While at Cleveland Clinic, and almost by serendipity, I met an urologist, Dr Daniel Shoskes, who introduced me to curcumin as a chemopreventive agent. Together we went on to complete the first human clinical trial for colorectal neoplasia chemoprevention. A few years later, I was recruited to return to Puerto Rico to join the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and the Cancer Center, and I felt it was the right time for me to move back home. I have been in Puerto Rico for 7 years and have had the opportunity to lead a multidisciplinary team of investigators, epidemiologists, and clinicians working together to examine the role of genetics, epigenetics, and chemoprevention in gastrointestinal oncology. In 2011, a unique opportunity was given to me when I received a presidential appointment from President Barack Obama to become a member of the prestigious National Cancer Advisory Board. This board serves as the body of advisors to the Director of the National Cancer Institute. Through this role, I have been given the opportunity to learn about the administrative aspects and the national scientific agenda in cancer research, representing the interest of minorities and women issues in cancer research. As a minority woman in science, I am familiar with the need to overcome certain stereotypes and work harder to excel and be recognized. Through mentorship, I have been able to join national (such as the Cancer Prevention Network) and international research networks (including the US Latin American Cancer Research Network) focusing on global health, cancer prevention, and health disparities. These opportunities have allowed me to open doors to other Hispanic minority students and scholars who, like me, are interested in a career in science and medicine.
Tips for a Successful Mentor–Mentee Relationship Based on my experience, here are some “tips” to guide you in searching and developing an enriching mentor–mentee
332
relationship. First, to identify potential mentors, determine your areas of interest and meet with individuals who have expertise in those areas.1 It is unlikely that you will find a mentor who has all the characteristics or skills that you may need in developing your career. As such, you may identify >1 individual who will complement your particular career track. Working with mentors who have different talents, each contributing to an important part of your training, could be a very dynamic and successful strategy. Second, remember that mentoring requires a significant amount of time investment from both you and your mentor (probably more from the mentor).2 The time investment varies, but it is important that you both have a clear understanding of the time commitment required from each one. It is important to also keep in mind the availability of your potential mentor, because time commitment is particularly important for formal mentorships during graduate and postgraduate training. Third, have an open discussion with your mentor so that you both have clear expectations regarding the goals, projects, and responsibilities before you embark on this relationship.3,4 My approach for formal mentorship at this point involves developing a clear understanding of our goals, establishment of milestones, and a time line to accomplish the task at hand. I believe that a successful mentorship relationship benefits from a verbal contract, and preferably regular, face-to-face meetings between the mentor and the mentee agreeing to work together toward a common goal. Fourth, nourish the relationship; be proactive and accountable for your responsibilities. Take feedback positively and contribute to the relationship, a 2-way street is the best way to grow and develop your career. Remember that having the right mentor–mentee relationship will help you to grow and make your career development even more rewarding.
The Mentor’s Perspective As my career has advanced (not that I am that old!), my role in the mentor–mentee relationship has evolved and I have become a mentor for several students, fellows, and faculty, either formally or informally. Being a mentor can be very rewarding and yet challenging at times. My perspective as a mentor is quite different from my previous mentee perspective. I have come to realize the extent my mentors have impacted me through the numerous ways I have emulated them in my career path. As a mentor in academic medicine, we have the privilege of educating and influencing the next generations of physician scientists and clinicians. It is a unique opportunity to shape our own future; those we mentor may become the leaders, scientists, and physicians who will take care of us. Effective mentorship requires commitment to the mentee and a genuine desire to help the mentee advance his/her goals, not expecting to receive any direct benefit except the internal satisfaction of a job well done. I have mentored both women and men, from distinct racial/ethnic, backgrounds and at various stages of their career. Although gender/racial concordance has been associated with enhanced mentor–mentee relationships,5 I have had very successful nonconcordant relationships both as a
MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING CORNER mentee and now as a mentor. However, I have noticed that there are certain characteristics that enrich the mentor–mentee relationship, making it more profound, efficient, and positive for all involved. These characteristics include an honest commitment to the mentor–mentee relationship as demonstrated by respect to each other’s time, completion of tasks in a timely manner, and a genuine desire to learn are some of those characteristics that resonate with me. Of course, the chemistry between individuals also plays a vital role. It is important that you feel comfortable and respected by the relationship, trust your “gut” feeling.
Final Note of Gratitude I have been very fortunate to be guided by remarkable mentors who have unselfishly given me their time, energy, and advice. All of them have promoted my career by opening doors and opportunities I would have never had on my own. I would like to end with a final thought of gratitude to all my mentors, who invested and continue to invest in me generously. I will always be grateful to my career mentors and friends Drs Francis Giardiello and Anthony Kalloo, who shared with me their passion for research, discovery, and excellence. I am grateful to the many other mentors who formally (Drs Andrew Feinberg, Neil Powe, Mark Donowitz, Steven Wexner, and Esther Torres) or informally (Drs Gloria Petersen, Sheila Crowe, John Baron, Nayda Figueroa, and Juan Tomasini) have guided me and have provided me with wisdom and advice at different crossroads of my life. You all have
contributed to where I stand today, and I am fortunate to be able to give back moving forward.
References 1.
2.
3. 4.
5.
Phillip-Jones L. The mentees guide. How to have a successful relationship with a mentor. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers/the Mentoring Group; 2003. Phillip-Jones L. The mentors guide. How to be the kind of mentor you once had – or wish you’d had. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers/the Mentoring Group; 2003. Lee A, Davis C, Campbell P. Nature’s guide for mentors. Nature 2007;447:791–797. Feldman M, Phil M, Huang L, et al. Training the next generation of research mentors: the University of California, San Francisco, Clinical & Translational Science Institute Mentor Development Program. Clin Transl Sci 2009;2:216–221. Ramanan R, Taylor WC, Davis RB, et al. Mentoring and career preparation in internal medicine residency training. J Gen Intern Med 2006;21:340–345.
Reprint requests Address requests for reprints to: Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, PO BOX 365067, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936. e-mail: [email protected]; fax: 787-758-2557. Conflicts of interest The author discloses no conflicts.
333
Personal Perspective on Mentoring Marcia Cruz–Correa University of Puerto Rico Cancer Center, San Juan, Puerto Rico
T
hroughout life, mentors are instrumental in facilitating the process of learning, providing guidance and experience, and at times an honest mirror to reflect upon. I have been blessed to have various mentors during each stage of my life that have provided me with inspiration and insightful advice, allowing me to develop to where I stand today. My first mentor and role model was my mother, a natural-born leader. She always surrounded me with an environment of love and respect, enabling me to develop self-confidence. Overall, the simplest way to describe my mother with 2 adjectives is enthusiastic and emphatic. Since I was young, she instilled in me an “Of course, you can do it!” attitude. Sometimes I found her to be a bit hyperbolic, but her mentorship had a profound effect in the way I approached life; it gave me a vision of possibilities. I carried that “plentiful vision” throughout my school years, even when I attempted to pursue ballet as a potential career, despite my limited dancing skills, but strongly encouraged by my mother. Nevertheless, she taught me one of the biggest life lessons I’ve learned to date, “Believe in yourself, prepare to the best of your abilities and persevere.”
Mentors in Our Professional Careers For the purpose of this perspective, I focus on formal and informal mentorship relationships as an invaluable aspect of our professional careers. During our professional training in medical school—residency, gastroenterology fellowship, and beyond—we all learn the very valuable skills of identifying and maintaining successful mentor–mentee relationships. I share with you my own mentorship experiences, which have been the most significant and empowering relationships for my career development. When I started in college based on my presumption of possibilities (attributed to my dear mom), I decided to be a full-time student and also work full-time in a luxury hotel during nights and weekends. I managed somehow to do it,
but as I entered medical school this desire of juggling multiple things at once came back to haunt me and my first year of medical school was less than ideal, almost costing me my medical career. I was given a second chance and a new mentor in life, Dr. Esther A. Torres, a female professor at the University of Puerto Rico, who was instrumental in guiding and giving me the opportunity to gain experience in clinical research (something I did not know much about at that point). The next several years of medical school and internal medicine residency were a blur, working hard to balance career and my young family (I had my only daughter as a third-year medical school student). During those years I also learned to love research and wanted to pursue formal training. I applied and was accepted to the gastroenterology fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in a combined doctorate degree program in clinical research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Upon starting my gastroenterology training, I was informed by the fellowship director, Dr. Linda Lee, that I was expected to identify an appropriate career and research mentor to guide me during the fellowship. This was quite daunting; I was new to the university and my area of research interest was yet to be defined. My approach to the task was systematic and I started meeting with diverse faculty members to discuss my research ideas with the goal of identifying someone with whom I was compatible (muchneeded chemistry!) and was willing to serve as my mentor. This required meeting with several potential mentors (12 to be exact), each one with special talents, vision, and wisdom. The search was not easy, because the idea of the “perfect mentor” to satisfy all of my career needs was not realistic because of the type of training and research I wanted to accomplish. I needed to have advice in diverse areas, including overall career guidance, research-specific expertise, endoscopic skills, and epidemiologic proficiency, to name a few. Therefore, finding a mentor who could meet all those needs would require assembling a team of mentors. As I searched for the “perfect mentors,” I realized that there were several characteristics that were very important to make this match work. I understood that availability and affability were as important as knowledge, experience, and a successful clinical or scientific career. I learned that a successful mentor–mentee relationship was based on mutual respect and the mentor’s genuine interest in ones’ career development. I also
© 2014 by the AGA Institute 0016-5085/$36.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2013.12.019
Gastroenterology 2014;146:331–333
MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING CORNER recognized that a mentor–mentee relationship was dynamic and that it evolved over time as needs or expectations from each member of this pair changed, with the ultimate goal of the continued growth of both the mentor and the mentee. Luckily, I was successful in assembling a diverse team of mentors, which guided me during the gastroenterology fellowship and doctorate degree. My 2 main career mentors in gastroenterology were Drs. Francis Giardiello and Anthony Kalloo, who helped me to strike a balance between research rigor and innovation. Furthermore, with them I learned the science and the art (“the yin and the yang”) of academic gastroenterology and how to navigate the road of a physician scientist. After completion of my formal training at Johns Hopkins, I joined the Cleveland Clinic in Florida, where Dr. Steven Wexner, an extraordinary colorectal surgeon who became my inspiration and advisor, mentored me. Those were challenging years, balancing the clinical work and my emerging research enterprise composed basically of a technician, a part-time research nurse, and me. At this point, residents and medical students were my mentees and we were full of hope and eager to advance the science. While at Cleveland Clinic, and almost by serendipity, I met an urologist, Dr Daniel Shoskes, who introduced me to curcumin as a chemopreventive agent. Together we went on to complete the first human clinical trial for colorectal neoplasia chemoprevention. A few years later, I was recruited to return to Puerto Rico to join the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine and the Cancer Center, and I felt it was the right time for me to move back home. I have been in Puerto Rico for 7 years and have had the opportunity to lead a multidisciplinary team of investigators, epidemiologists, and clinicians working together to examine the role of genetics, epigenetics, and chemoprevention in gastrointestinal oncology. In 2011, a unique opportunity was given to me when I received a presidential appointment from President Barack Obama to become a member of the prestigious National Cancer Advisory Board. This board serves as the body of advisors to the Director of the National Cancer Institute. Through this role, I have been given the opportunity to learn about the administrative aspects and the national scientific agenda in cancer research, representing the interest of minorities and women issues in cancer research. As a minority woman in science, I am familiar with the need to overcome certain stereotypes and work harder to excel and be recognized. Through mentorship, I have been able to join national (such as the Cancer Prevention Network) and international research networks (including the US Latin American Cancer Research Network) focusing on global health, cancer prevention, and health disparities. These opportunities have allowed me to open doors to other Hispanic minority students and scholars who, like me, are interested in a career in science and medicine.
Tips for a Successful Mentor–Mentee Relationship Based on my experience, here are some “tips” to guide you in searching and developing an enriching mentor–mentee
332
relationship. First, to identify potential mentors, determine your areas of interest and meet with individuals who have expertise in those areas.1 It is unlikely that you will find a mentor who has all the characteristics or skills that you may need in developing your career. As such, you may identify >1 individual who will complement your particular career track. Working with mentors who have different talents, each contributing to an important part of your training, could be a very dynamic and successful strategy. Second, remember that mentoring requires a significant amount of time investment from both you and your mentor (probably more from the mentor).2 The time investment varies, but it is important that you both have a clear understanding of the time commitment required from each one. It is important to also keep in mind the availability of your potential mentor, because time commitment is particularly important for formal mentorships during graduate and postgraduate training. Third, have an open discussion with your mentor so that you both have clear expectations regarding the goals, projects, and responsibilities before you embark on this relationship.3,4 My approach for formal mentorship at this point involves developing a clear understanding of our goals, establishment of milestones, and a time line to accomplish the task at hand. I believe that a successful mentorship relationship benefits from a verbal contract, and preferably regular, face-to-face meetings between the mentor and the mentee agreeing to work together toward a common goal. Fourth, nourish the relationship; be proactive and accountable for your responsibilities. Take feedback positively and contribute to the relationship, a 2-way street is the best way to grow and develop your career. Remember that having the right mentor–mentee relationship will help you to grow and make your career development even more rewarding.
The Mentor’s Perspective As my career has advanced (not that I am that old!), my role in the mentor–mentee relationship has evolved and I have become a mentor for several students, fellows, and faculty, either formally or informally. Being a mentor can be very rewarding and yet challenging at times. My perspective as a mentor is quite different from my previous mentee perspective. I have come to realize the extent my mentors have impacted me through the numerous ways I have emulated them in my career path. As a mentor in academic medicine, we have the privilege of educating and influencing the next generations of physician scientists and clinicians. It is a unique opportunity to shape our own future; those we mentor may become the leaders, scientists, and physicians who will take care of us. Effective mentorship requires commitment to the mentee and a genuine desire to help the mentee advance his/her goals, not expecting to receive any direct benefit except the internal satisfaction of a job well done. I have mentored both women and men, from distinct racial/ethnic, backgrounds and at various stages of their career. Although gender/racial concordance has been associated with enhanced mentor–mentee relationships,5 I have had very successful nonconcordant relationships both as a
MENTORING, EDUCATION, AND TRAINING CORNER mentee and now as a mentor. However, I have noticed that there are certain characteristics that enrich the mentor–mentee relationship, making it more profound, efficient, and positive for all involved. These characteristics include an honest commitment to the mentor–mentee relationship as demonstrated by respect to each other’s time, completion of tasks in a timely manner, and a genuine desire to learn are some of those characteristics that resonate with me. Of course, the chemistry between individuals also plays a vital role. It is important that you feel comfortable and respected by the relationship, trust your “gut” feeling.
Final Note of Gratitude I have been very fortunate to be guided by remarkable mentors who have unselfishly given me their time, energy, and advice. All of them have promoted my career by opening doors and opportunities I would have never had on my own. I would like to end with a final thought of gratitude to all my mentors, who invested and continue to invest in me generously. I will always be grateful to my career mentors and friends Drs Francis Giardiello and Anthony Kalloo, who shared with me their passion for research, discovery, and excellence. I am grateful to the many other mentors who formally (Drs Andrew Feinberg, Neil Powe, Mark Donowitz, Steven Wexner, and Esther Torres) or informally (Drs Gloria Petersen, Sheila Crowe, John Baron, Nayda Figueroa, and Juan Tomasini) have guided me and have provided me with wisdom and advice at different crossroads of my life. You all have
contributed to where I stand today, and I am fortunate to be able to give back moving forward.
References 1.
2.
3. 4.
5.
Phillip-Jones L. The mentees guide. How to have a successful relationship with a mentor. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers/the Mentoring Group; 2003. Phillip-Jones L. The mentors guide. How to be the kind of mentor you once had – or wish you’d had. Grass Valley, CA: Coalition of Counseling Centers/the Mentoring Group; 2003. Lee A, Davis C, Campbell P. Nature’s guide for mentors. Nature 2007;447:791–797. Feldman M, Phil M, Huang L, et al. Training the next generation of research mentors: the University of California, San Francisco, Clinical & Translational Science Institute Mentor Development Program. Clin Transl Sci 2009;2:216–221. Ramanan R, Taylor WC, Davis RB, et al. Mentoring and career preparation in internal medicine residency training. J Gen Intern Med 2006;21:340–345.
Reprint requests Address requests for reprints to: Marcia Cruz-Correa, MD, PhD, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, PO BOX 365067, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936. e-mail: [email protected]; fax: 787-758-2557. Conflicts of interest The author discloses no conflicts.
333
