Mentoring surgeons.

From time immemorial mentoring has been the angular stone sustaining the building of medical and surgical education. Good teachers are not necessarily good mentors, and good mentors are not always good teachers. A combination of both is very plausible and should be encouraged. Today, the qualities of a good mentor, in our case the surgeon-mentor, should include respect, time, commitment, trust, determination, encouragement, patience, and opportunity for independence. The mentee would need to respond to similar virtues of trust, encouragement, and respect. The reciprocal consideration of equally divided roles would be clearly desirable. Recognizing the importance of a good mentor and making this role the priority of medical schools would enhance our ability to form better professionals. It would certainly promote professionalism, better patient care, and research.