Access to mentorship is crucial, not just for emerging IRs, but for practicing physicians at every level. Mentorship provides community, guidance, education and support, and the right mentors can help their fellow physicians overcome barriers, enact culture shifts and encourage future research. But as IR grows and the IR residency becomes more and more competitive, finding mentors has become increasingly difficult.
Recent surveys of medical students, residents and fellows showcase the impact of the mentor desert. One survey showed that 98.6% of surveyed students who have an IR mentor indicated they would pursue a career in IR, while 41% without a mentor said they wouldn’t. Those with a mentor were also more likely to do research in IR—though another survey showed that 31% of respondents couldn’t find an IR research mentor at their institution.
“This tells us that lack of mentorship is an obstacle to research,” said Dania Daye, MD, PhD, assistant professor of interventional radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-author of multiple surveys on mentorship and research. “Accessible mentorship increases the number of students we can recruit into the specialty, especially those interested in doing research, which is key to the future of IR.”
Other factors make mentorship difficult as well, according to Dr. Daye. The surveys highlighted disparities faced by women and members of underrepresented minority groups, with one survey reporting that 74% of men said they had an IR mentor—while only 58% of women did. Female trainees reported feeling less encouraged to pursue research, and women reported having less frequent access to mentors, with only 29% of respondents saying they met with their mentors more than twice a year.
Part of this discrepancy can be due to both attitudes and culture; it can be daunting to approach a senior IR to ask for help, especially if a student or resident doesn’t exist in the same social circles. “I’ve seen situations where publications and opportunities are discussed between male attendings and fellows while out at a golf course,” Dr. Daye said. “Women aren’t often in this setting, and so they’re never even hearing about the opportunities.”
Another factor Dr. Daye points to is the limited number of women and URM physicians in the specialty. “People look for mentors that they can identify with,” said Dr. Daye. “We know that women and URMs make up a small percentage of IRs, and those we have get tapped for so many things. They can’t mentor everyone.”
Potential mentors may also be hesitant to engage out of concern for the mentees. Mentorship can seem like a lot of responsibility, especially if they aren’t a good fit with their mentee. What if they don’t give good advice or don’t feel senior enough? Can they help a mentee with new opportunities? Are they prepared to commit themselves to a young IR? According to Dr. Daye, this is where it’s important to consider the spectrum of mentorship.
“Mentorship is an interesting concept because many people think of it as top down. That isn’t true. Mentorship can be lateral, or even junior to senior. Every person has something to learn from everyone around them,” Dr. Daye says. For example, younger IRs are often called upon to take a leadership role in regard to social media branding or marketing.
And a mentor does not need to be everything to one mentee. “A lot of literature on the topic of mentorship advocates the concept of a board of directors,” Dr. Daye says. “You should have multiple mentors for different aspects of your life—a technical mentor for procedures, one for leadership, one for research, etc. You bring these mentors all together to form your board of directors, and they each offer something different.”
Along with the board of directors, Dr. Daye advocates considering the differences between mentoring, sponsoring and coaching. “A mentor gives you advice, a coach educates and teaches you and a sponsor will advocate for you.”
Sponsorship can be crucial, especially for women and URMs. As Dr. Daye explains it, a sponsor is someone who will get you opportunities when you aren’t even in the room. Finding IRs all along the spectrum of mentorship to join a board of directors is one of the best ways for a younger IR to get established and learn.
This is why Dr. Daye encourages structured approaches to mentorship, which engage the full breadth of knowledge of the specialty. “I feel very strongly that mentorship needs to come from men and those in more privileged positions.”
Such solutions include mentoring circles, which reduce the barrier for entry by bringing small groups of physicians together to communally mentor each other. Other mentoring groups can have 5–10 people of similar career stages meeting with one or two more senior mentors once a month or so.
Combined with national approaches such as the SIR Mentor Match tool, interested mentees can bypass some of the barriers to mentorship. “Mentor Match is a great tool,” Dr. Daye says. “It’s available when signing up, and it immediately connects people with more established IRs. I’d love to see all members become more engaged with it.”
References:
- Xiang DH, Snyder A, Capua JD, Galla N, Tischfield DJ, Lewis T, Somani S, Sucher A, Ahmed M, Daye D. Mentorship in Interventional Radiology: Addressing Obstacles to Pursuing Research and Innovation Among IR Trainees. Acad Radiol. 2021 Nov 30:S1076-6332(21)00526-2. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2021.10.028. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34862123.
- Daye D, Lewis T, Tischfield D, Somani S, Sucher A, Galla N, Li H, Kumar V, Rochon P, Ahmed M. Abstract No. 210 Mentoring in interventional radiology: opportunities to engage the next generation through research. JVIR. 2020;31(3):S96.
- Zhao S, Sun G, Li S, Galla N, Abboud R, Daye D. Abstract No. 581 Gender-based analysis of mentoring in interventional radiology: opportunities to engage the next generation of women in interventional radiology. JVIR. 2021;32(5):S163.
- Li S, Sun V H, Galla N, Salazar G, Lewis T, Ahmed M, Daye D. Gender-Based Survey Analysis of Research and Mentoring in Interventional Radiology. JVIR. doi.org/10.1016/j.jvir.2022.01.010
