Most medical schools offer individualized faculty mentored research opportunities to their students. One of the major contributing factors for medical students to be successful in these scholarly endeavors is the mentorship they receive. Effective mentorship has been associated with a positive impact on professional development and enhanced research productivity. Indeed, mentorship has been shown to be a crucial contributor to successful outcome for science trainees at all levels. Yet, many students struggle to have an effective relationship with their mentor. This focus session is provided by the members of the IAMSE committee on Students’ Professional Development. The goal of this session is to prepare students on how to identify a mentor and how to develop and maintain a productive mentor mentee relationship. For this purpose, personal and professional characteristics of both mentor and mentee that are crucial for an effective relationship will be examined. Common obstacles and mistakes that contribute to a failed relationship will be examined and interventions towards an effective relationship will be identified. Case studies will be utilized to discuss and examine these issues and students and mentors are encouraged to add their experiences to the discussion. At the end of the session, a consensus of how to make the mentor mentee relationship effective will be drafted. 

 

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