The Unique Privilege of Mentorship: Mentor and Mentee Perspectives

“Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.”—Oscar Wilde “Poor is the apprentice who does not surpass his master.”—Leonardo Da Vinci The above quotes are sentiments we express to residents and fellows with whom we work. As mentees have a propensity to emulate their mentors, trainees are encouraged to “be themselves” to reach their potential, rather than modeling themselves after any of their mentors. As stated elegantly by Stephen Spielberg, “The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”1 Success as an aesthetic surgeon is multifaceted and cannot be restricted merely to good results in “before-and-after” photographs; it includes intellectual curiosity, academic pursuit, humility, leadership, appropriate interpersonal relationships (with both patients and colleagues), as well as honesty, integrity, and a warm bedside manner—attributes a mentor strives to pass on. Above all, success as an aesthetic surgeon represents the ability to embody all those qualities, while remaining eager to teach and impart them to the next generation of surgeons. This allows both surgeon and apprentice to benefit from the unique privilege of mentorship. In discussing mentorship here, the difference between coaching and mentorship must be emphasized.1 Whereas coaching is time-limited and related to the development of a specific skill set or competency, such as elevating a SMAS flap or performing a microvascular anastomosis, the coaching relationship is terminated when a trainee achieves this specific competency and graduates from the training program. In contrast, the relationship between a mentor and mentee is lifelong: the trainee knows that they can rely on their mentor long after the initial relationship or educational experience is completed. Mentees know that they can count on their mentors at any time in the future should they encounter a challenging case, experience a complication, or require assistance with a personal problem. In this sense, not all coaches are mentors, but all mentors are lifelong coaches. The story of this mentor and mentee begins at a national conference several years ago, when a junior trainee approached a senior surgeon seeking an opportunity to collaborate. By being receptive, encouraging, and warm, the senior surgeon allowed for the development of a productive relationship with the trainee, culminating in several published manuscripts and presentations over the ensuing years. More importantly, the surgeon's humility and openness to collaborate allowed for the development of several strong mentoring relationships with similar eager trainees over the years, imparting lessons and principles essential for their development into successful aesthetic surgeons. The specific relationship between the authors of this editorial represents a long-distance mentoring relationship—one of three kinds of mentorships we believe in. The first kind of mentoring relationship represents, as Da Vinci put it, a master and apprentice relationship.2 Indeed, this was the standard in training of surgeons until the 1800s, through which surgery was learned through apprenticeship, observation, and imitation of a seasoned surgeon.2,3 This evolved throughout the 20th century, with mentorship representing an essential component of the Halstedian model of surgical training.3 More recently, with medical education evolving into a competency-based model,3 some authors4 have raised the disturbing notion that mentorship may be a “dying art,” although others5 have offered a more encouraging perspective, demonstrating that most accomplished surgeons have both experienced mentorship, and gone on to become mentors themselves.1,5 We firmly believe that mentorship in all its forms is alive and well, and will continue to be relevant and a force in the development of generations of academicians and leaders in all medical fields. The second form of mentorship we believe in represents long-distance mentoring relationships, such as the one that exists between the two authors of this editorial, who are in different cities, and indeed, two different countries. Such a relationship is often initiated by a junior trainee or early-career surgeon seeking to observe or collaborate with a more senior surgeon. The productive relationship that ensues allows a junior trainee to build a relationship and learn from their mentor, despite not physically working together in close proximity. Through long-distance mentoring, a mentee can come to learn several principles essential to being a successful aesthetic surgeon, including the importance of leadership, intellectual curiosity, and academic drive, which, if maintained, will undoubtedly lead to a successful career. A mentee can learn how humility is essential both in the face of triumphs and failures— wherein celebrating one's triumphs is inconsiderate of others who may have failed; humility in the face of success also allows one to remain grounded and focused on continuous improvement and development. While visiting to learn and observe in the operating room, a mentee can come to appreciate the impact of treating all members of the healthcare team with kindness and respect. The pleasant, healthy, and respectful work environment that results enables a team to offer each patient the best possible care, and serves to fulfill all members of the team, both junior and senior, in the work that they do. Similarly, the impact of calling patients' families from the operating room regularly throughout a long procedure can be appreciated, along with the importance of always speaking with families again immediately after surgery. Although seemingly small gestures, these actions go a long way in providing patients with the empathetic care that they seek, strengthening the surgeon-patient relationship, and promoting patient satisfaction with the aesthetic surgical care they have received. In contrast, mentees can also learn strategies to deal with unhappy patients, and will come to appreciate that aesthetic surgeons can only truly promise patients two things: to always and only do one's best, and to be honest and never less than truthful with patients. On the personal side, a mentee can also observe and learn the importance of cherishing time with family and loved ones, without whose support and sacrifice our careers as surgeons would not be possible. Finally, the third kind of mentorship that we believe in represents what we describe as “podium mentorship,” wherein observing how colleagues present at meetings, or conduct themselves in public, allows one to identify in them traits that one respects and appreciates. One of us (F.N.) recalls the late Dr Tom Rees with whom he never formally worked nor trained, but whom he had been mentored by when, several years ago, rumors circulated in Atlanta that he had retired. He reached out to Dr Rees whom he had heard discuss such situations and his experience dealing with malicious rumors of this nature. Dr Rees mentored him in such a way that he was able to quell the rumors of his early retirement. Similarly, Dr Robert Singer has mentored many in the leadership of The Aesthetic Society, including the senior author (F.N.), without ever being involved in their training. The purpose of this Editorial is to emphasize that mentoring goes beyond the traditional Da Vinci style of master and apprentice;2 it is, and should be, global, without boundaries. The senior author is flattered that medical students, residents, and young surgeons worldwide consider him a mentor. He also realizes that he is not unique and recognizes that many colleagues have mentored globally, some more than him. Just as aesthetic surgeons impact patients' lives and careers,6 mentorship by an aesthetic surgeon—whether in person, remotely, or from the podium—can, does, and will continue to influence the growth and careers of mentees, both in aesthetic surgery and the field of medicine at large. The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article. The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

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