TRAINEE CORNER
Growing Mentorship Within Neurocritical Care
By Wren Sherrill, MSN, ACNP, and Alexis Steinberg, MD, on behalf of the NCS Trainee Committee
Mentorship is a time-honored practice of developing an
individual’s skills, talents and experience. It refers to a special
relationship in which someone with more experience helps guide
a less experienced individual. A mentor refers to someone who
positively impacts a protégé by providing guidance, fostering
insight and encouraging growth. Mentorships can be formal or
informal and can be found in academia, the medical field and
corporations. Often, people have many mentors and mentees in
all different areas of life and throughout their lifespan.
The power of the mentor-mentee relationship can yield
extraordinary benefits to both people and the organization as
a whole. Mentees get advice, encouragement and direction,
which leads to increased productivity, improved self-confidence,
professional development and overall increased enjoyment of
their work life. Mentors often experience improved leadership
skills, enhanced job satisfaction through an exposure to new
ways of practice or a fresh view on a topic, and the personal
satisfaction of significantly contributing to another person’s
success. Organizations also reap critical indirect benefits from
these relationships. They foster a supportive community, which
improves recruitment, retention and commitment. With new
members, they help provide a seamless and supportive induction.
Given the increasing number of trainees within the field of
neurocritical care, there is a growing need for mentorship within
the society. Trainees who do not have dedicated neurocritical
care units in their program or those with more unique pathways
such as APPs and pharmacists require more formal mentorship
programs to aid with career development.
The NCS Trainee Section (formerly the Resident and Fellow
Section) wanted to bring such a mentorship program to the field
of neurocritical care to create a venue for trainees and junior
attendings to obtain more accessible mentorship. Thus, in 2017,
the first NCS formal mentorship program was created. The first
edition connected established neurointensivists from around the
world with medical trainees in residencies and fellowships who
were interested in the field of neurocritical care. In the second
edition, the applicant pool was expanded to include pharmacy,
nursing, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
The Trainee Section carefully reviews applicants’ resumes and CVs
to match mentees to mentors with similar interests (clinical vs.
research vs. education, etc). Once the matches are made, the pair
is asked to develop a project together. The program is formally
one year long, although the hope is for lifelong relationships to be
established. Throughout the year, the pair works on their project
together, communicating at least monthly. Projects range from
case reports to quality improvement projects, to research projects,
to developing a neurocritical care fellowship curriculum. (See
Table 1 with examples of 2018 projects.) In addition to discussing
the project, the mentor advises the mentee on career planning
and professional development. To encourage this communication
throughout project planning, the Trainee Committee reaches out
to pairs with monthly discussion points that are relevant to early
career development. (See Table 2 with examples of topics.)
This NCS mentorship program is connecting people across the
globe and fostering lasting relationships. It is promoting growth
and development of medical professionals within neurocritical
care. Both mentors and mentees are creating meaningful
relationships, gaining fresh perspectives and expanding their
network. During a quarterly survey done during the program, one
mentee remarked, “My mentors at my institution all have similar
backgrounds and training, so it’s nice to get a new perspective.”
Another mentee described the program as “a great opportunity to
meet very talented people.” Mentors’ responses were also positive.
When asked what they enjoyed about the program, one mentor
stated, “I feel like I’m impacting another individual’s career in a
positive way.”
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