The mentor-mentee relationship in academic medicine.

In the world of academia, the power of a good mentor can be quite potent. Researchmentors inspire, teach, and/or create opportunities for those they mentor (e.g. projects, staff positions, promotions, grants). Previous authors have developed “mentor guidelines” [1,2], while Tobin [3] identified seven key roles of the successful mentor — teacher, sponsor, advisor, agent, rolemodel, coach, and confident. Characteristics of the mentor–mentee relationship were described in a commentary in JAMA, outlining honesty, explicitness and an eventual separation as key features to successful mentorship [4]. Conversely, a lack of appropriate mentorship has been recognized as a deterrent to research activities by junior faculty members and trainees [5]. Not too long ago there was evidence demonstrating that the number of clinician-researchers applying for major research grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)was declining,which led to a formal NIH-commissioned Panel in an attempt to reverse this trend [6]. The Panel suggested that research mentors had a large role to play, and that partial salary support for mentors by the NIH would be helpful. Many high-profile programs, suchas theDepartmentofMedicineatBrighamandWomen's Faulkner Hospital in Boston, have since initiated successful mentorship programs [7]. Thementor–mentee relationshipmay also bebeneficial to the mentor, both in terms of increased job satisfaction and increased productivity. However, mentoring also brings the potential for negative consequences [8]. Mentees may make a poor choice in mentor and be stuck with a “dud”: the abilities and/orwork ethic of a poormentormay result in a tremendous amount of time, energy, and evenfinances being lost by the mentee. Ironically, having a mentor that is “too good” may have negative consequences as well. Mentees may not receive due credit for their work, or may not find themselves able to separate from their mentors. Finally, given the power differential between mentors and mentees, there is potential for “abuse”. Previous literature has been published on unprofessional and unethical behavior of senior staff “role models” toward trainees clinically [9], but similar poor behavior may occur in a research setting. Clearly, the relationship between mentors and mentees can be complex.We examined thementor–mentee relationship in themedical academia through a large international survey, examining the prevalence of mentorship among publishing academics, the length of and difficulty in ending the relationship, and the incidence of abuse. This survey was part of a larger survey, where the corresponding authors of every fourth original research report published in JAMA (2001–2003), BMJ (1998–2000), CMAJ (2001–2003), or Lancet (1998–2000) were