1

Adriana Dalea
Mentoring Summary
August 6, 2014
What is Effective Mentoring?
When we talk about mentoring we think from our point of view, but if we ask someone
we can receive a completely different answer than the one we were thinking. Mentors exist in
our life from our childhood, early years of school, and continue during our professional life.
They can be a parent, a sibling, a teacher, a more experienced student, a coworker or a more
knowledgeable professional in our work environment, or even a friend that we look up to.
The mentoring concept was initiated a long time ago, from the time Homer wrote the
invaluable story The Odyssey.
1
In Homers story, Mentor was a Greek character who acted as a
guide for Odysseus son during his search for his father. Following those ancient times, the word
mentor became a definition of someone whose role is to council and lead a person who is
willing to follow and has a specific goal to reach.
Per Dr. Oana Patrascu, effective mentoring means valuable feedback and support
improving the experience of the mentor and mentee at the same time. The mentor and mentee are
working together investing effort and time to build a strong relationship based on communication
and collaboration. The relationship between the mentor and mentee is beneficial, the mentor
offers learning opportunities and support, the mentee is bringing new ideas and shares his/her
experience. They set goals and expectations together to create a solid plan of action (O Patrascu,
MD, oral communication, August 2014).
In the opinion of Andreea Dimofte, MS, Medical Physicist, an effective style of
mentoring is when the mentor gives enough information to the mentee, so that the latter can
perform and successfully accomplish the desired goal on his/her own, without the need to ask
additional questions or to be forced to stop the work he or she is doing, due to insufficient
resources or lack of knowledge. The relationship between the mentor and mentee should be
based on trust and respect, with an open minded attitude from the involved individuals (A
Dimofte, MS, Medical Physicist, oral communication, August 2014).
Another interesting statement was from Brett Smith, MS, Medical Physicist, who stated
that at the beginning of his career, his mentor encouraged him to perform tasks that he wasnt
confident doing, over and over again, until he learned them well and successfully accomplished
2


them.

In his opinion, this was a very good technique, which helped him to use more his critical
thinking skills, make decisions, learn from mistakes and find solutions on his own (B Smith, MS,
Medical Physicist, oral communication, August 2014).
The relationship between the mentor and the mentee can be sometimes affected by
different factors which can negatively influence the flow of things. For example, the lack of time,
communication or the mentoring style, can be reasons that can lower the progress of the
mentoring process (O Patrascu, MD, oral communication, August 2014). Another reason can be
represented by the differences between the generations of the mentor and the mentee.
1
For
example, the baby boomers generation, people born after the United States Great Depression,
were the ones who had the drive to succeed in their careers without any hold ups, the family was
on the second place, and the work was the main focus for this group of people. In comparison,
the newest generation of workforce, born after 1980, is the most educated in the American
History, the people are technologically savvy, used to networking and collaboration. This
generation has strong views and is characterized by creativity and free expression. A mentor and
a mentee from these two different generations can encounter difficulties in their relationship if
the characteristics of each generation are not taken into account and acknowledged.
If performed well, the mentoring process can be a valuable tool for both the mentor and
the mentee, as well as for the organization involved. There can be professional growth for
everyone involved and great satisfactions for both the mentor and the mentee.












3



Reference
1. Stewart DW. Generational mentoring. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2006;37(3):113-120.
http://libweb.uwlax.edu:2130/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d78575a1-615d-4706-b055-
250f27caee62%40sessionmgr4004&vid=0&hid=4114&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLH
VpZCZzaXRlPWVob3N0LWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d. Accessed August 6,
2014.
























4


Appendix A
Adriana Dalea
Mentoring Interview with Oana Patrascu, MD (Transcript)
August 4, 2014
Q: What does effective mentoring mean to you?
A: Effective mentoring means valuable feedback and support improving the experience of the
mentor and mentee at the same time. The mentor and mentee are working together investing
effort and time to build a strong relationship based on communication and collaboration.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between the mentor and mentee?
A: It is a beneficial relationship for mentee and mentor alike, the mentor offers learning
opportunities and support, the mentee is bringing new ideas and shares his experience . They set
goals and expectations together to create a solid plan of action.
Q: Did you have more than one mentor during your training for your current profession?
A: Unfortunately, I didnt have mentors during my training, I only had teachers.
Q: In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle that can interfere between a mentor and a
mentee?
A: Mentoring style, not enough time, lack of communication.


5


Appendix B
Adriana Dalea
Mentoring Interview with Andreea Dimofte, MS, Medical Physicist (Transcript)
August 4, 2014
Q: What does effective mentoring mean to you?
A: The mentor should give enough information to the mentee, so that the latter can perform and
successfully accomplish the desired goal on his/her own, without the need to ask additional
questions or to be forced to stop the work he or she is doing, due to insufficient resources or lack
of knowledge.
Q: How would you describe the relationship between the mentor and mentee?
A: The relationship between the mentor and mentee should be based on trust and respect, with an
open minded attitude from the involved individuals.
Q: Did you have more than one mentor during your training for your current profession?
A: Yes, I had several mentors, for every separate area I was preparing for.
Q: How did your mentor(s) help you the most in order to successfully reach your goal?
A: I was encouraged to accomplish the tasks on my own, but the mentor was always available if
I needed assistance.
Q: In your opinion, what is the biggest obstacle that can interfere between a mentor and a
mentee?
A: Lack of communication.