Journal article
Cross-mentorship: A Unique Lens Into the Realities and Challenges of Diversity in Surgery
Annals of surgery, Vol.275(1), pp.e6-E7
01/01/2022
DOI: 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005213
PMID: 34520426
Abstract
Mentorship in surgery is a perennial topic of interest, as successful mentoring relationships are associated with improved career satisfaction, academic promotion, research productivity, and overall well-being.1 While it is true that certain minority groups in surgery find great personal and professional benefit in receiving and providing mentorship among “their own” (ie, a female academic surgeon mentoring a female resident), it is important to recognize that many mentoring relationships, whether intentionally or otherwise, extend across gender, sexuality, generations, race, ethnicity, and other differences.2 Lived examples of these include an Asian man hailing from the Northeast with no children mentoring a White mother of 2 from the South, or a White gay man being mentored by a Black heterosexual faculty member. As surgery fortunately becomes a more diverse specialty, such mentorship relationships occur all around and among us; however, they have neither been named nor explicitly studied in our field.
For this reason, The Association of Women Surgeons HeForShe Committee took interest in this rarely mentioned and vaguely defined concept of “cross-mentoring” with the intention of conducting focus groups to further explore the topic. However, as we began to pilot our survey questions with general surgery residents across the country, we were grossly unprepared for the eye-opening conversation that followed. We describe how, despite our collective expertise and devotion to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we were not immune to the effects of implicit bias. We hope that by sharing our reflections and highlighting the difficulties surrounding the study of mentorship, we may all learn important lessons.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Cross-mentorship: A Unique Lens Into the Realities and Challenges of Diversity in Surgery
- Creators
- Marina Affi Koprowski - University of PortlandKaren J Dickinson - University of Arkansas for Medical SciencesCrystal N Johnson-Mann - Florida CollegeMartha Godfrey - Florida CollegeEmilia J Diego - University of PittsburghMarie Crandall - Florida CollegeKevin Y Pei - Parkview Health
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Annals of surgery, Vol.275(1), pp.e6-E7
- DOI
- 10.1097/SLA.0000000000005213
- PMID
- 34520426
- NLM abbreviation
- Ann Surg
- ISSN
- 0003-4932
- eISSN
- 1528-1140
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2022
- Academic Unit
- Surgery
- Record Identifier
- 9984738103702771
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