Demystifying mentorship: Tips for successfully navigating the mentor-mentee journey

Quality mentorship is crucial for long-term success in academia and overall job satisfaction. Unfortunately, formal mentorship training is lacking, and there is little recourse for failed mentor-mentee relationships.

We performed a literature review to understand the current state of mentorship research with a focus on: (1) what mentorship is and why it is important for success; (2) establishing mentor-mentee relationships; and (3) the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

From the literature review, we compiled a number of mentorship recommendations for individuals, departments, institutions, and professional associations. These recommendations focus on building a mentorship network, establishing formalized mentorship training, how to build a productive and mutually beneficial mentor-mentee relationship, and instituting a system of mentorship accountability.

We hope that by centralizing this information and providing a list of resources and actionable recommendations we inspire and encourage others to make meaningful changes in their approach to mentorship to create a more kind, caring, and equitable environment in which to conduct our work.