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Mentor, Mentee, or Both?

Mentor, Mentee, or Both?

Clinical training is part of a student's academic program, where they learn how to apply skills learned in the classroom and transfer those techniques into the clinical setting. Students are often paired with a clinical instructor to guide the training experience. Under the mentorship of the clinical instructor, the student will take on the mentee role. However, perhaps additional exploration of the impact of this educational experience and the professional relationship between mentor and mentee should be reviewed further.

Each student has a different learning style, while clinical educators can have varying teaching styles. Therefore, learning how to recognize different preferences and create a shared decision-making process to enhance the educational experience is essential. In addition, these learning and teaching preferences should be identified early in the process so that both mentor and mentee can benefit fully from the clinical experience.

See the below guide for how to approach clinical education:
Mentor, Mentee, or Both?
The relationship between students and clinical instructors should be active and dynamic. An ongoing dialogue is crucial to ensure engagement.

Teaching students can be a gratifying experience as an instructor. The process helps students grow individually and allows the instructor to adapt and improve their teaching style. In addition, this is an opportunity for mentors to develop leadership and interpersonal communication skills.

Students have a substantial knowledge base and may provide an interesting perspective. Mentors must be humble and open to new research and information to support clinical decision-making. Removing unnecessary barriers allows for an open and organic learning environment. Despite being a "student", these mentees should be treated as colleagues and professionals. Even as a mentor, there is always an opportunity to learn and grow.

The relationship between the student and the clinical instructor should be active and dynamic.  There should be continuous dialogue to ensure there is active engagement. 

From my past experiences, I have found mentoring a student can really be a rewarding experience.  Not only are you helping the individual development of the student but learning how to adapt and refine your own teaching style. This is an opportunity for the mentor to develop leadership and interpersonal communication skills.

Also, students are extremely smart and have a very in-depth knowledge base. It is important for mentors to be humble and open-minded to new research and information to help guide clinical decision-making. We need to learn how to treat students as colleagues and professionals. We need to remove unnecessary barriers and allow for an organic learning environment.

 

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