PERSONAL VIEW

Prospects for mentoring in dentistry

BRIAN R. DAVIES

I like the idea of using the mentor approach as a means to

aid personal development. My rather ancient version of the

Concise Oxford Dictionary de® nes a mentor as being `an

experienced & trusted adviser’ . This seems to me to be a

very good description of what a mentor should be.

There is of course nothing startling or new in this concept.

It has been around in some form or other for centuries. A

great deal of what might loosely be called `on-the job’ training

in dentistry, medicine, nursing and the wider world of

industry and commerce are familiar examples of the

mentoring process. It is attractive Ð using a more experienced

colleague to assist another in identifying and reaching a

range of goals and objectives.

At a crude level it can be viewed in the same way as

training a sheepdog, by literally tying two animals together.

One is the older trained dog, the other the younger novice,

the one to be trained. The simple objective is to teach the

young dog the patterns of thinking and command obedi-

ence inherent in the older, wiser animal.

To take the agricultural analogy a little further both dogs

are under the control of a shepherd. He or she could

represent a teaching institution and to complete the analogy

our students then become the ¯ ock. Although this is

somewhat simplistic, could this process lead to the develop-

ment of an active dynamic process whereby ideas and methods

are developed and exchanged both by individuals and institu-

tions alike? If the process is seen to be a positive and beneficial

activity in the sense that learning together and personal

development are the key goals then this has much to offer.

I believe the key features of a successful mentoring

programme are mutual trust and respect between participant

colleagues, agreed common goals and objectives plus an

honest reporting strategy for the ® ndings including any

con® dential observations. There are many other features

you could include to enlarge the list but these seem to

embody the essential elements to me.

How, then, can we use the process to advantage in

dentistry? Starting at the level of the older experienced

practitioner a common enough situation is the updating of

existing clinical skills. Often the shortcomings in knowledge

are already known but not necessarily admitted. An informal

mentoring structure can be a successful way to approach

these challenges.

The selection of a suitable mentor is crucial to the process.

In addition to skill and experience other qualities such as

tolerance, empathy and insight are also needed. A non-

threatening environment, perhaps away from the normal

place of work, can also be helpful.

In the case of a general dental practitioner another

colleague from within the practice may be appropriate or

indeed from another outside supportive source: local

postgraduate centre, hospital or community dental practice.

To give a concrete example, one dentist I was concerned

with needed to update her knowledge in the ® eld of dental

adhesives. It became clear that her present understanding

was below current undergraduate level.What we agreed was

to involve a sympathetic third party in the form of a mature

undergraduate student who undertook to `take her under

his wing’ to attend formal lectures and obtain copies of relevant

papers and hand-outs, acting in the role of part mentor.

My task was to allow shadowing of clinical teaching

where interaction with me, the students and patients was

encouraged. Several informal feedback sessions were

arranged which were part tutorial and part re¯ ective and

allowed us both to increase our knowledge, as my colleague

had a good selection of difficult cases to discuss from her

practice.The student also found this a very rewarding experi-

ence as the chance to exchange wider views with a practising

dentist was much appreciated.

Vocational training is now an established part of a dentist’s

training in the UK and immediately on quali® cation a year

is spent with an approved general practice trainer who acts

as a personal guide and adviser. Some of my colleagues

report that they ® nd the mentoring process a valuable way

of keeping their own professional knowledge up to date. All

new graduates bring with them fresh ideas, particularly if

they have quali® ed from another dental school.The exchange

of feedback sometimes means that the trainer then becomes

the mentored and not the mentor. For those who quali® ed

some time ago this input of contemporary thinking often

can stimulate new and better approaches to practice

problems. I have also found the process invaluable when

guiding undergraduate research projects. Informal discus-

sions where objectives, materials and methods are considered

can result in brainstorming from which better ideas or

approaches often ¯ ow.

Though not a new experience, each time I always learn

from it and I believe my students do as well.

In dentistry as well as other medical disciplines we are

meeting more colleagues from the European Community

and the former Eastern Europe, as well as the old Common-

wealth and beyond. Many are not familiar with our ways

and practices as indeed we are not with theirs. The transi-

tion into a new practice environment can be stressful at the

best of times, particularly where additional problems of

language and culture exist. There is an obvious role for

mentoring here. My own experiences can testify as to how

mutually valuable the process can be.

Correspondence: B.R. Davies, King’s Dental Institute, Dept of Conservative

Dentistry, Caldecot Road, London SE5 9RW, UK. Tel: +44 (0)171 346 3585;

Fax: +44 (0)171 346 3826; Email: brian.r.davies@kcl.ac.uk

Medical Teacher, Vol. 21, No. 3, 1999

0142-159X/99/030332-02 ½ 1999 Taylor & Francis Ltd322

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There are, of course, other inventive ways in which

mentoring can be used to advantage. Many teachers seem

to be ® nding the changes taking place in higher education

both challenging and at the same time bewildering. The

greater use of jargon, which can mean different things to

different people, and the expectation at least that new

technology will play a key role in everyone’s professional life

means that most of us will need some help and guidance to

make best use of these facilities. For instance, the area of

informatics or information technology is growing rapidly

and outside specialists who have these skills are well placed

to act as mentors. Indeed it would not be unusual to have a

situation where the teacher was both the mentored and at

the same time the mentor of another colleague, passing on

his/her newly acquired knowledge.

Like many others, I have been at different times both an

informal mentor and mentoree depending on the situation

and circumstances. I personally have found it to be one of

the most useful reciprocal learning tools available to us. It is

likely that we do not ascribe sufficient value to the process

since it seems to be such an obvious thing to do in many of

the learning environments that concern us.

I will leave you with a few questions, though, that

concern me should mentoring develop further and become

more formal in its use. How do you measure its success

and how do you interpret the ® ndings? Can this ever be

sufficiently objective to help assess the performance of

any particular individual? Is it either proper or ethical to

have a mentor also act in the capacity of an appraiser or

assessor? Mentoring in my view should not be simply an

intellectual exercise, or worse still used as a covert manage-

ment appraisal tool.

I am writing this conclusion on the ® rst day of a new

year with the end of the century also before me. I ask

myself, can this activity of mentoring move forward and

grow into something really exciting during the coming

millennium?

Notes on contributor

BR IAN DAVIES is a Part-time Lecturer in the Dept of Conservative

Dentistry and the Maurice Wohl General Dental Practice Centre,

King’s Dental Institute, London. He is also in General Dental Practice

near Reading, Berkshire.

Prospects for mentoring in dentistry

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