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Ellie Hawk
Mentoring Activity
August 5, 2015

A mentor is an individual with experience in the profession and the desire to share that
knowledge and experience with others entering the field.1 As someone who has had many
mentors through life and my educational history, I have to agree with this definition. Typically I
have noticed a mentor is someone that you are able to look up to and respect. In return, the
mentor has concern for their mentee and their success, therefore driving their mentoring abilities.
If these traits are exhibited, a very beneficial mentor and mentee relationship can be established
in which the mentee will learn and excel at the topic on hand.
The actual act of mentoring is explained by Wilson as a relationship, formal and/or
informal, between a novice and one or more senior persons in the field for the purposes of career
and personal development and preparation for leadership.2 In laymens terms I would explain
mentoring as when a mentor figure, as explained above, takes a upcoming professional under
their wing and shows them the rules of road within the profession. It is like on the job
training, a type of coaching by experienced people and professionals (Mike Hawk, BS, oral
communication, August 2015). The process can be lengthy and slow down the workflow of those
involved, but typically is done until the individual being mentored is capable of performing the
task and can work independently of the mentor (Rob Foster, MS, oral communication, August
2015).
The process is more lengthy and complicated than simply just teaching someone the
information. A teacher teaches from a book and mostly a pre-determined curriculum and
possibly has no real life experience. A mentor has lived the subject and guides you from
experience to build upon your book knowledge (Mike Hawk, BS, oral communication, August
2015). Many times teachers do have real life experience on the topic, but may no longer be in the
profession therefore are not up to date on the newest technologies, methods, or modern
departmental flows that have evolved since they have last worked. Mentoring takes place within
the clinic for medical dosimetry, therefore the mentor will be up to date and able to effectively
mentor while preparing the individual to perform a task as opposed to teaching the concept
only (Rob Foster, MS, oral communication, August 2015).

Effective mentoring builds upon on the aspects learned though teaching and books. As
more responsibility is given to students within the clinic, their strengths and weaknesses can be
evaluated by the mentor.3 Once these are established, the mentor can hone in on aspects the
student needs more help with. As discussed, it takes time to effectively mentor and all the
participants must be engaged and committed to the completion of the knowledge exchange
(Rob Foster, MS, oral communication, August 2015). An effective mentor also acts as a support
system for the mentee. They are a professional within the field that the mentee can turn to with
problems on subject matter to get answers to their questions, along with positive support and
encouragement (a warm fuzzy feeling) that a book cannot pass on (Mike Hawk, BS, oral
communication, August 2015).
Specific to medical dosimetry, mentoring is important since the mentor will have hands
on knowledge to pass on that may not be found in a textbook, as well as helpful hints that helped
the mentor get to their current point in the profession (Mike Hawk, BS, oral communication,
August 2015). In order to get the most out of any mentoring experience one should have a
proper knowledge base to begin the training and the ability to learn the subject matter from the
mentor (Rob Foster, MS, oral communication, August 2015). The mentee also must pay
attention and listen twice as much as talking, however asking good and relative questions is vital
to learning (Mike Hawk, BS, oral communication, August 2015).
Mentoring is a unique opportunity that upcoming professionals should take full
advantage of. If you find individuals within your profession that you relate to, you should ask
them if they wouldnt mind taking time to help or mentor you to better adapt to the profession. If
you end up learning more about their history you will most likely find that they had a mentor that
got them to the point they are at today. Both of my current mentors I interviewed discussed
individuals they deemed successful within their profession and sought advice from. Their
mentors advice has stuck with them allowing them to grow into the knowledgeable
professionals they are today. The experience and advice had then made them desirable mentors
in return.

References
1. Trad ML. Mentoring radiation therapy students: A review and survey. J Radiol Radiat Ther.
2009;18(2): 101-108.
2. Wilson FC. Mentoring in orthopaedics: an evolving need for nurture. J Bone Joint Surg Am.
2004;86(5):1089-1091.
3. Lenards, N. Professionalism and Mentoring: Mentoring. [SoftChalk]. La Crosse, WI: UW-L
Medical Dosimetry Program; 2014.

Appendix A
Ellie Hawk
Mentoring Interview with Mike Hawk (Transcript)
August 5, 2015
Q: Define mentoring in your own words.
A: It is like On Job Training, a type of coaching by experienced people.
Q: What makes mentoring different than teaching/supervising/instructing?
A: A teacher teaches from a book and mostly a pre-determined curriculum and possibly has no
real life experience. Mentor has lived the subject and guides you from experience as well as the
book knowledge.
Q: How do you explain effective mentoring and what aspects are important to be an effective
mentor to a mentee?
A: To be effective the Mentor builds a relationship and trust that he is experienced in the subject
with the Mentee and the Mentee then feels engaged with the Mentor and the real life engagement
in what is being taught. Also the fact the Mentor can give the mentee positive support and
encouragement (a warm fussy) a book cannot pass on.
Q: Why do you think mentoring is important for my future as a medical dosimetrist?
A: The Mentor will have hands on knowledge to pass on that may not be found in a text book as
well as helpful hints that helped the mentor get to their current point in the profession.
Q: How can someone get the most out of their time with a mentor?
A: Pay attention and listen twice as much as talking however asking good and relative questions
is vital to learning.
Q: Who was your most influential and memorable mentor? Why?
A: Previous successful people in whatever I needed to learn. I have had multiple very good
Mentor type experiences...Why these people, simply because they have had Skin in the game!

Appendix B
Ellie Hawk
Mentoring Interview with Rob Foster (Transcript)
August 5, 2015
Q: Define mentoring in your own words.
A: Mentoring is guidance given to an individual who is less experienced in a certain practice in
order to increase their knowledge in order to perform a task. Mentoring is done by an individual
with an understanding of the task and is actively passing this understanding on to the individual
being mentored. Mentoring is typically done until the individual being mentored is capable of
performing the task and can work independently of the mentor.
Q: What makes mentoring different than teaching/supervising/instructing?
A: Mentoring involves preparing an individual to perform a task where teaching can involve
concepts only. Supervising is oversight without the need for a thorough understanding of the
tasks that are being asked to be completed.
Q: How do you explain effective mentoring and what aspects are important to be an effective
mentor to a mentee?
A: Effective mentoring involves all the participants to be engaged and committed to the
completion of this knowledge exchange. There should an understanding of how the knowledge
exchange process will be carried out and what endpoints are necessary to consider the mentoring
complete. The mentor must be very knowledgeable and have the ability to pass along
information concisely and ensure no loss of understanding when communicating.
Q: Why do you think mentoring is important for my future as a medical dosimetrist?
A: Dosimetry mentoring is important to ensure that inexperienced individuals perform the
complicated tasks involved in the field accurately and to the specifications of the centers
protocols. This is an ongoing process in a dosimetrists career as technology and practices are
constantly evolving. Being mentored and mentoring will be expected throughout a medical
dosimetrists career.

Q: How can someone get the most out of their time with a mentor?
A: Someone who is being mentored should be attentive and engaged and have a good working
relationship with the mentor. There must be a proper knowledge base to begin the training and
the ability to learn the subject matter to being passed along by the mentor. Communication to
the mentor on the progress of the mentored individual is important to maintain progress and give
the mentor feedback on what should be emphasized or reiterated.
Q: Who was your most influential and memorable mentor? Why?
A: During my first therapy job the medical physicists that worked at the center. Dr. John Fan. He
mentored me into on the job training for medical dosimetry and helped me to pass the boards to
earn CMD credentials. After being a dosimetrist for a while, he mentored me again into the
medical physicist field. He helped me into the field in which now I am a board certified medical
physicist and have the ability to mentor others.