Women's Microsurgery Group Mentorship Program: Are We Fostering Connection and Meeting Mentees Needs?

Access to female mentorship in microsurgery is limited. The American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery Women's Microsurgery Group (WMG) established a mentorship program in 2014. This study evaluates recent participant demographics and mentee priorities.Data from the 2023 to 25 WMG mentorship cohorts were analyzed to assess demographics, mentor practice patterns, and mentee priorities using standard statistical methods.The recent cohort includes 51 mentors and 55 mentees. Mentees were primarily medical students. Mentors were primarily junior attendings. Mentees represented 48 institutions; 12.5% lacked female plastic surgery faculty and 39.6% lacked a female microsurgeon. Among medical student mentees, 32.1% were from schools without an integrated residency and 25% had no home plastic surgery program. Mentee priorities varied significantly by training level (p = 0.006), with earlier trainees valuing career advancement and later trainees prioritizing transition to practice. Significant discordance existed between mentee preferences and mentor backgrounds in both practice type (p < 0.001) and setting (p = 0.006). While 55.8% of mentees expressed interest in blended practices and 36.5% favored hospital-based or private practice settings, most mentors had purely reconstructive (86.3%) academic practices (86.3%).The WMG mentorship program effectively connects mentees-many from institutions lacking female microsurgeons or plastic surgery programs-with female mentors. The majority of mentors are junior faculty and a substantial number of mentees are "orphan applicant" medical students, underscoring the need for broader mentorship initiatives and efforts to reduce mentor fatigue. Findings also highlight the importance of expanding mentor recruitment to better reflect the evolving interests and goals of mentees.