Mentoring: implications for career development

Mentoring can be viewed as a set of behaviors applied toward a relationship that provides guidance and support in career development. This article reviews some of the current literature on mentoring and presents concepts that may benefit persons in the profession of dietetics. The process of mentoring provides mentors with career and psychosocial rewards, while protégés benefit from a wide variety of career and/or social opportunities made available through the relationship. Rewards for each member of the dyad appear dependent on the age and needs of each person. An alternative to mentoring, known as the patron system, has been proposed; that system places mentoring at the end point of a continuum which includes peer pals, guides, and sponsors. Networking, a crucial aspect of career development, broadens opportunities for prospective mentors or sponsors and protégés to meet and interact. Entry-level dietitians can benefit from mentor-protégé relationships which groom young professionals for leadership positions. The question to be answered is how such relationships can be supported in our various work settings. A model of the mentoring process in dietetics is proposed.