Mentoring, the Surgical Sensei, and Micro-Mentoring Moments in Surgical Skills Training

To clarify the role of mentoring in surgical training by presenting the concept of the surgical Sensei as a practical framework for understanding how surgeons develop technical expertise, professional judgement, and interpersonal practice.

Conceptual article drawing on mentoring literature, surgical education scholarship, and selected concepts from martial traditions. The article frames mentoring as embedded in the everyday work of becoming a surgeon, rather than as an optional support activity.

Surgical learning environments, including operating theatres, wards, clinics, and skills laboratories.

Surgical trainees, surgical trainers, faculty developers, and programme leaders involved in technical skills education and professional development.

The article argues that surgical expertise is transmitted through sustained attention to fundamentals, micro-deconstruction of techniques, and disciplined awareness of the learner, the task, and the environment. It introduces "micro-mentoring moments": brief, often informal interactions that occur across surgical learning settings and cumulatively shape technical development, judgement, and professional comportment.

Mentoring behaviors, like technical skills, can and should be practised away from patients in low-cost skills environments. Making mentoring explicit, teachable, and integrated into technical skills training may help surgical educators better support learners' development.