I met my mentor yesterday during a conference and introduced him to a few of my students. One of the students asked him about the “role of a mentor in surgical residency?”
I am sharing his reply for the benefit of others.
To mention particularly there is no training in surgery without a mentor. If we try to define “surgical training”, it revolves around the mentor-mentee or guru-shishya relationship. While you may learn certain steps from YouTube and other resources, a few intricate practical details can only and only be taught by a guru.
A mentor is a term derived from an old Greek legend in which a king who was heading for a war had to leave his son in the care of his very close friend, instead of leaving him to his wife and Mentor grew up to be a very wise and noble king.
You watch your mentor operating, walking, talking, his mannerism, his attitude towards care of his patients and virtually follow him in everything you do. The role of a mentor is unlimited. It is vital and mandatory to have a guru in your life.
He ended by quoting Kabir’s famous couplet –
Guru govind dono khade, kaake lagu paaye
Balihari guru aapno, govind diyo bataye
“Teacher and Lord are both there, whom to be adore. but teacher you are great, who told us that god is greater”
So those who are planning to take up surgical branches this year, do be on the lookout for a mentor, who can guide you all throughout your surgical career.