Mentoring in Surgery—Mentor, Parshuram, Dronacharya, Krishan

Abstract

Success in any profession has no well-defined predictors. Knowledge, skills, training, and talent come in plenty but fail at times to achieve the universal goal of success. Some attribute it to luck. Apart from the tangible ingredients of a successful career, the intangibles like luck or something ill-defined is a real challenge. The intangibles seem like a chasm, an abyss, or a phantom obstacle. Presence of a guiding spirit who can handhold you to overcome these is essential for success. The aim of a professional is to learn, earn, and yearn for creativity. Practice of surgery is an ideal career to pursue the learning, earning, and yearning. More than any other profession, the guiding handholding spirit is required in surgical profession, the concept of mentoring. Originating from the Greco-Roman times when kind Odysseus left his son Telemachus under the care of his friend, mentor, it has become a universal defining necessity for a successful career in surgery. Indian history replete with such examples of mentorship, good as in the case of Dronacharya to Kaurvas but bad as denied by an able, competent, aspiring student like Eklavya. In the medical profession, there are very few Indian role models of mentorship. One name that comes to our mind is Dr. Krishan Mahajan. The more said is less revealed about him. "Knife before wife" was his commonly spoken advice to all who sought his mentorship. "Hard work is not easy but it is fair" so said a famous boxer, Larry Holmes. It is more than true for our profession as it is better to prepare and prevent, rather than repair and repent.

Incorporating Well-Being into Mentorship Meetings: A Case Demonstration at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Surgery a Harvard Medical School Affiliate

“…Mentorship has become a universal necessity for a successful career in surgery. 1 A mentor is defined as a trusted counselor or guide. 2 The act of mentoring in an academic institution is one that involves time, and commitment from faculty who are juggling multiple academic roles including clinician, researcher, and educator.…”

Tool or the Teacher?—Mentoring and Mastering Using Simulation in Surgery

“…All trainees were expected to train for nearly 6 years and take an oath after graduation. This was very much like the Halsteadean residency and Hippocratic Oath of today [1][2][3][4][5].…”

“…However, because of the restricted and curtailed training period and a larger number of trainees, the challenge is to create time for the trainer-trainee relationship to develop. And therefore, to maximize the training opportunities, it is necessary to explore innovative ideas to enhance the quality of training especially in surgery [1,2,8]. Surgery as a science has perhaps outgrown the art in modern times but art still retains its place in the core.…”