MENTORING FOR MEDICAL PHYSICISTS: WHEN AND HOW?

Education programs for medical physicists can be limited by local teaching resources and available technologies. Furthermore, modern imaging and therapy technologies continue to evolve at a rapid rate and require continuous learning support for their safe and effective implementation in the clinic. Mentorship provides an important resource in support of filling the educational gaps and the knowledge updates required for the development of new techniques and the implementation of new technologies. A structured mentorship process can be a useful resource at any point during a medical physicist’s career, although the specific purpose of the mentorship will likely vary depending on when in one’s career this occurs. This review provides a description of the various stages of a structured mentorship program along with some guidance on how to implement a sustainable and successful mentorship activity. Seven mentorship stages are described including ‘defining the purpose of the mentorship’, ‘finding mentor / mentee partners’, ‘setting the scene’, ‘engagement’, ‘evaluation’, ‘redefinition’, and ‘separation’. Some etiquette guidelines are proposed including some suggested dos and don’ts. In some regions, there may be a dearth of nearby appropriately experienced mentors. Mentoring virtually using internet technologies may provide a good alternative. The results of an on-line global survey related to virtual mentoring are summarized. In conclusion, structured mentorships may provide a very useful resource for medical physicists at any stage of their careers. Understanding how best to navigate such mentorship programs will maximize their benefits.