Spotlight on mentoring | Association of Anaesthetists

Spotlight on mentoring

Spotlight on mentoring

What is mentoring?

Traditionally, mentoring was considered a form of patronage, with a more experienced person passing on their wisdom and guiding a less experienced person. This was my understanding when I joined the Trainee Committee and I wasn’t sure it was relevant for me; things were going well. However, they say ‘Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it’, and there were numerous enthusiasts: Gordon French, Robert Self and Nancy Redfern all offered mentoring opportunities. So I had a go.

It was more structured than I anticipated, there was no advice or opinion offered, just a really good way of helping me understand my dilemma, identifying my own solutions and planning how to achieve this. 

Developmental mentoring has nothing to do with seniority and clinical expertise; the mentor needs to have the skills and qualities to walk alongside the mentee as they unpick a dilemma or opportunity, supporting them to achieve their full potential. 

This requires a trained mentor using a framework to underpin the conversation. Gerard Egan’s ‘The skilled helper’ is one such framework, first published in 1982 and revised and developed over 30 years [1].

mentoring illustration

How might mentoring be useful to you?

I decided to train as a mentor. During my training, I was mentored by fellow course participants as we learned to use the framework. Not only do I find the active listening and communication skills that I have developed as a mentor useful in both my personal and working lives, but the process of being mentored helped me clarify some of my life priorities. Interestingly, where I have ended up in mentoring conversations, both as mentee and mentor, is not always where I expected to be. A few hours spent exploring one’s thoughts and feelings can help one re-frame the situation, and draw on past experiences that might be of use presently. For me, it’s an efficient way of sorting out a situation, rather than letting it run around in the back of my mind.

COVID-19 and the anaesthetic trainee

It would be remiss of me to discuss opportunities and challenges of current training without mentioning COVID-19. There have been considerable challenges: lost elective training; re-deployment to ICU; postponed rotations and exams; and changes to ST3 recruitment and CCT dates, to name but a few. Trainees have lost control of their working environments and career plans, which can be very de-stabilising. The focus on COVID-19 means there has been little time for trainees to reflect and plan their career strategically. As the dust settles a little, it is important that we assist trainees to identify, and make the most of, new opportunities that now present themselves.

Exploring mentoring with the Association

The Association of Anaesthetists has long been supportive of mentoring, with Nancy Redfern and Gordon French running mentor development courses for 25 years. The Association facilitates a national mentoring network that is free to members, putting together prospective mentees with trained mentors, and run taster sessions at major conferences. It seems likely, in the current climate, that sessions will take place via video conference. Whilst this is not the ideal format, I have conducted several successful sessions this way since COVID has invaded our lives.

If you feel you would like to explore the process and spend some ‘you’ time, focussing on ideas, priorities, personal resources and future planning, check out the Association's mentoring scheme and book a session.

My thanks to Nancy Redfern for assistance with this article.

Karen Stacey
Elected member of the Trainee Committee,
Association of Anaesthetists Locum Consultant Anaesthetist
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust

Twitter: @karenstacey82

Reference

  1. Egan G. The skilled helper, 10th edition. Belmont, USA: Brookes/ Cole Cengage Learning, 2013.

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