What is mentoring?
Mentoring is the process by which an experienced, highly regarded, empathic person (the mentor) guides another individual (the mentee) in the development and re-examination of their own ideas, learning, and personal and professional development.
The mentor achieves this by listening and talking in confidence with the mentee.
Mentoring relates primarily to the identification and nurturing of potential for the whole person. It can be a long-term relationship, where goals may change. The goals are always based around the needs of the mentee, who also sets the agenda.
Feedback does not come from the mentor. The mentor instead helps the mentee to develop insight and understanding through intrinsic observation - that is, becoming more aware of their own experiences. Mentoring has been shown to be important to the personal and professional development of doctors.
You can download our standards and definitions documents below.
Become a mentor
Want to develop your skills to effectively mentor others? Why not attend our highly interactive one-day course which provides paediatricians with the core skills and knowledge to be an effective mentor. It will allow delegates to have effective learning conversations with their mentees and by extension with other colleagues, patients and parents and carers.
Topics covered:
- What is mentoring
- Benefits and value of mentoring
- Building effective mentoring relationships
- Mentor toolkit and interactive skills sessions
RCPCH mentoring standards
This document below outlines the essential components of high-quality mentoring schemes and training programmes. These are likely to be of equal interest to those providing mentoring support and paediatricians seeking it.
It is supported by our definitions document below.
Contacts
The RCPCH mentoring team can be contacted for further support at mentoring@rcpch.ac.uk