The SRA Symposium - College of Medicine

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Brent: Karl has been a great friend to me, my family, and all those with whom he has interacted
at the Naval Medical Research Center. He put forth the effort to talk and become friends with as
many of the people around him as possible. I invited him over for dinner a few times, and my family
and I enjoyed his company. It is much easier to be a mentor to someone who is genuinely your
friend.
Good Listening Skills. In any productive relationship, good communication is key. The mentor
should be a good listener, never being bound to his or her perspective by misjudging or misinterpreting
the trainee. A mentor should always listen to exactly what the trainee is trying to say,
not what the mentor expects or wishes to hear. The mentor should pay attention to the “subtext”
of the trainee’s words, including his or her tone, attitude, and body language. When the trainee
believes to have understood a point, it is helpful to repeat it back to the mentor, making sure this
understanding is correct. The same principles of good listening for the mentor should be applied
to the trainee. Effective communication, requiring good listening skills, is essential to a productive
mentor/trainee relationship.
Karl: Dr. House’s ability to listen was one of the factors that contributed most to my experience
here. Dr. House never interrupted me when I was talking. Moreover, he never unduly persuaded
me to adopt his opinion - this was very helpful for me, because I could learn more and was not
bound by unnecessary limits. Our listening-based communication was a keystone for my project,
especially at the beginning when most of my time was spent reading and asking questions.
Brent: Good communication is fundamental in a mentor/trainee relationship. During Karl’s stay
here, I always felt that he listened well to instructions and training given to him. For example, each
morning we would discuss the previous day’s results and the upcoming projects. At each of these
discussion sessions, I would give him instructions for the day’s work. He would almost always do
what was discussed – and if he was confused about one thing or another, he would immediately
come and talk to me about it.
The Mentor’s Responsibilities
Be Available. The mentor should make himself available to the trainee. Too many scientists-intraining
are left to their own devices during the crucial initial phases of their careers, because
mentors are very busy and may not be able to reserve large blocks of time for the trainee. But
through effective communication, and a solid commitment from the mentor, time can be made
available for training. The mentor should also keep in mind that some students require more time
than others. It might be quite possible for some, more talented and/or experienced scientists to
just “check in” once or twice a week. But some students will require, especially in the beginning, a
larger portion of the mentor’s time. In any case, the mentor should not forget his or her trainee(s)
and should arrange times for weekly or even daily meetings.
Karl: To read as much as possible and to learn the theoretical side about molecular biology was
one of my objectives during this internship; therefore I read a lot in the first few weeks in order to
understand the work that I would be doing in the lab. During this reading time, my mentor was
always available if I had questions. This was great since none of my objectives could have been
accomplished if Dr. House had been unavailable. Dr. House, in order to make sure that I understood
the material well, was spending even more time talking about the material than I needed.
Throughout the laboratory exercises, Dr. House was almost always available if I needed him as
well.
38 2005 Symposium Proceedings Book