What Mentors Wish Their Mentees Knew

The mentor-mentee relationship is a tango between a junior person and a more senior one; just as in dance, coordination and orchestration between parties is necessary for grace and success. While much has been written about what makes the ideal mentor, comparatively less has attention has been given to the other partner. This gap is unfortunate because, like mentorship, menteeship requires specific behaviors, without which the mentee’s success may be threatened. This article outlines five habits of ideal mentees, providing anecdotes and views from the authors’ combined years of academic experience along the way. While the article focuses on the relationship in academic medicine, the takeaways apply to most any field.