AOTA Presidential Blog

How Do We Best Mentor Our Students? Lessons Learned

I have been engaged in life review lately, reflecting upon lessons learned through mentoring students and more junior colleagues. Mentoring, as you probably know, is the term used to refer to someone who imparts wisdom and shares knowledge to someone less experienced. There are ten lessons learned that I want to share with you about the process:

1.       Throwing others to the wolves with a “sink or swim” mentality doesn’t work. We can’t expect people to perform beyond their capabilities.

2.       My most successful attempts at mentoring involved asking mentees to “stretch,” but not too far.

3.       It is counter-productive to “take over” or do the work others should and could be doing. Mentees discover just how good they are by successful achievements they thought were beyond their reach.

4.       Mentees need to believe their mentors are their cheerleaders—I have come to realize being critical is very problematic.

5.       Great mentors teach by example—words alone do not suffice.

6.       Learning to “listen” is a skill every mentor should master.

7.       Mentoring is tricky—one must remain supportive, but not dishonest, in sensitive situations.

8.       Mentoring involves genuine and labor-intensive commitment, but it must not be experienced by the mentee as overbearing.

9.       When done poorly, mentoring can be agonizing, when done well it is exhilarating.

10.   I remain humbled thinking about how challenged I am by it, even after so many years.

I would love to hear your reflections and words of wisdom on this timeless topic.

Posted: 7 Nov 2011 2:33 PM by Florence Clark | with 10 comment(s) |

Comments

Cristina Reyes Smith said:

Dr. Clark,

Thank you for sharing your voice of experience.  It definitely sounds as though you have extensive experience on both sides of the mentorship relationship.  

I believe that the 4th bullet point is especially insightful--as successful mentors must accept that in striving for success, mentees will inevitably have some bumps in the road.  It is often in those risks taken that the mentee "stretches" to achieve things never thought possible. Having the unwavering acceptance and support of a committed mentor can make a pivotal difference in getting back up after falls and persevering to achieve our potential.

Thank you, again, for sharing your insights on this very important topic.

-Cristina Smith

# November 9, 2011 9:43 PM

Carla Wilhite said:

Dr. Clark,

Wise words indeed! Thank you  for sharing.

-Carla Wilhite

# November 11, 2011 11:27 AM

Cassandra said:

Dr. Clark,

  I could comment on each of these bullets. However, the one that I feel the most strongly about it number 2. It reminds me of learning about and experiencing transformational leadership as a Level 2 student and how my supervisor strategically and gently inspired me to take the leap into unfamiliar territory. It was exhilarating and powerful all at the same time because I knew my supervisor believed in me and my potential.  I feel that this is probably one of the most important experiences a mentor can provide for someone just starting in the field and putting their book knowledge into practice.

Thank you for posting. I will be sharing this with my colleagues!

- Cassandra Andrade

# November 13, 2011 1:33 PM

Emily L. Vaught - Chairperson, ASD said:

Dr. Clark,

What a great blog topic! Having been raised to hold another's personal investment in my development in the highest regard, I am a big fan of the mentor-mentee relationship. Throughout my collegiate career, I was so lucky to have worked under a number of diverse mentors--and one in particular very closely over the last 5 years, who has been the quintessential ingredient in my development as a scholar, clinician, and leader. The most beneficial aspects of our relationship come from years of earnest reflection on the impact she has made in my life:

- Friendship, as well generosity with her time and care in both professional and personal settings

- Professional experience and "leading by example"

- Exposure to diverse paths, and providing the right mentorship as I choose my paths--rather than being urged in certain directions

- Encouragement and advocacy throughout my successes, and my not-so-successes

- Honest, frank discussion of my strengths and my challenges

While I love the many wonderful, happy achievements and involvements we have shared, I also appreciate and frequently reflect on the times in which she has humbled me with constructive feedback and helped me find my way. I feel that she has in so many ways OT'ed me, learned my story, and tailored her mentorship to my needs and learning style. She has allowed me to step into the spotlight, and to also lend my knowledge and resources to her professional advancement. This reciprocity has not only developed my skills as a diligent mentee, but also as a future mentor!

It is great to know that the struggles and the triumphs are not one-sided, and that this relationship can be mutually beneficial for both involved. May we all be so lucky in our lives as to have another personally invest in our development to the benefit of not only ourselves, but also the entire OT profession and community!

Thanks for your insight-

Emily L. Vaught, M.S., OTR/L

Chairperson, Assembly of Student Delegates   |   AOTA

# November 16, 2011 9:17 AM

Bill Wong said:

I think Emily summed it up pretty good.  The relationship is a two way street.  It is a lot of work on both ends.  The mentors got to find mentees with great potential.  Mentees got to show the desire to learn from their mentors and find mentors who can best groom them.  Of course, there is the supply and demand issue, as good mentors should do whatever they can to be the best mentor for their mentees.  Sometimes good potential mentees are missed, however.  For those mentees (like me when I applied for a lot of these opportunities), the key is to not be discouraged.  Eventually there will be mentors out there who can see their true potential.

# November 16, 2011 1:33 PM

Florence Clark said:

Dear Cristina, Carla, and Cassandra,

I am glad that you found the information in this blog post valuable.  I urge you to continue in the valuable role as mentor to students and colleagues.  Thank you for your commitment to our profession.

Sincerely,

Florence Clark

# November 21, 2011 4:55 PM

Florence Clark said:

Dear Emily,

Thank you for your service to AOTA as Chairperson of the Assembly of Student Delegates.  You have not only gained wisdom through the relationship you have had with your mentor, but you are also able to eloquently articulate these insights.  You are most fortunate to have this experience and to have the interpretive skills to describe it.

Sincerely,

Florence Clark

# November 21, 2011 5:01 PM

merrill said:

Dr. Clark,

Your posting really resonated with me in my role as academic fieldwork coordinator. In a course called Transitions, which takes place right before our students go out on Level II fieldwork, I encourage students to "lean into discomfort" while on fieldwork. We talk about neural growth, personal growth, professional growth and how we build mastery incrementally.

So much depends on our interpretation of our stumbling around - are we making progress over time?

I agree that students benefit from seeing that sort of reflection modeled and by having overt conversations about growth, learning, and mastery.

Thank you for the thoughtful post,

Susan Merrill

UNH

# November 22, 2011 1:17 PM

Julie Kurrasch said:

Dear Dr. Clark,

I am a first year OT student at Indiana University.  I came across your blog post as I was gathering information for a mock research study on the effectiveness of the Emerging Leadership Development Program.  

I appreciate several aspects of your post, but I find it most notable that you refer to mentoring as a "process".  I believe this is key!  While there are certain elements that will make you a more successful mentor, there is no sure-fire formula or check list to follow.  In fact, I find that I have sometimes learned the most from mentors who have made a mistake and chose to address it, correct it, and create a teachable moment rather than those mentors who were "flawless".  

As a student and soon to be practitioner, I appreciate mentors who may not have everything figured out, but are willing to bring me along in that learning process.

Thank you for your example of a leader who continues to reflect and learn!

Sincerely,

Julie Kurrasch

# November 22, 2011 8:00 PM

Jberryessa said:

Dr. Clark,

I would love to see this post attached to fieldwork site manuals and supervisor student contracts everywhere.  I wish all fieldwork supervisors/educators would be willing incorporate these lessons into their mentoring philosophy.

I also believe that when mentoring a student through fieldwork a supervisor/educator needs to come back to the roots of occupational therapy.  Students should be viewed in the same manner as a client, in a holistic manner.  The backbone of our chosen profession is that "All aspects of the domain are of equal value and together they interact to influence (a person's) engagement in occupation" and it applies to OT students as well.

An OT student's identity can stretch far beyond that of being a student.  Just like things such as roles, values or required body functions are taken into consideration when developing activities for clients, fieldwork supervisors/educators should be at least cognizant of the other aspects of a student's life that influence his/her education process.

When working with a client over time we learn how much he/she can tolerate during an activity and how far to challenge them before the activity causes harm.  Fieldwork students are not that much different

I believe that fieldwork experiences should be challenging, with opportunities to practice clinical reasoning skills and problem solve through the difficulties, but they should not cause harm. The experiences should give some insight into "the real-world" of an OT practitioner but the reality is fieldwork is "education".  When "education" is treated EXACTLY like "the real-world" the experience becomes debilitating, the learning process is stunted.

As you stated in your first point throwing somebody to the wolves is not an effective method.  It is barely effective for employees in "the real-world" and is definitely detrimental for students during their "education"

Thank you for taking the time to impart your knowledge on the potential mentors out there.  I remain hopeful that those practitioners who choose to mentor others, either as professionals or by supervising fieldwork students, will take your lessons to heart.

Sincerely,

Jessica Berryessa, OTAS

# January 27, 2012 12:19 AM