5 Reasons Why Mentoring is Good for MENTORS

There are a ton of great articles and books on why mentoring the next generation of up and comers is a great idea. You can ID incoming talent, increase the profitability of your organization with more engaged workers, and it increases team building and grooming of the next generation of leaders. I think we all get this.

Tl;dr with this article? No worries - listen to a podcast recap here.

But what's more interesting is - WHAT are the BENEFITS, if any, to the MENTORS of MENTORING?

Well, other than the warm and fuzzy feeling that you're making the world a better place, it's not a bad idea to question to ask. After all, you're giving the ONE thing you can never get back - YOUR TIME - so why wouldn't you want some type of return on investment for that?

So, here are some benefits that I've reaped since I've been mentoring others for much of my own career:

1. It helps you remember WHY you got into the work that you did in the first place - right now, pharmacy is a tough profession to be in...there are job losses, salary cuts, and burnout. But, in just finishing up with another student this month on APPE rotation with me, I appreciated her excitement about joining the profession - and her interest in making things and people--healthcare--better. That's good energy to have around you when the times are tough.
2. It helps you stay RELEVANT - Mentoring relationships have been two way for me, always. I learn as much from the students or the mentees as I do from giving advice and sharing wisdom as a mentor. A digital native generation, for example, views the world completely differently than those of us who (thankfully) grew up without Facebook and the internet. I learned all kinds of things from my most recent student, most of which honestly didn't have much to do with pharmacy, but was and is helpful to know.
3. It helps you safely experiment or explore areas you don't have time to check out on your own - Example: the student just checked out and played with some technology on campus that I've been dying to try myself, but haven't had the time. I LOVE that she had the chance to play with it before I did, because she shared what to watch out for, etc. Even though we didn't really end up using the tech, it was a great thing for her to try out for BOTH of us.

BTW - here's an opportunity to be a mentoring hero or shero with little effort - join us on 9/26/19 at Butler University COPHS if you're a pharmacist in a nontraditional healthcare setting - at any point in your career. There's no cost to attend, but you can find out what the NEXT gen of pharmacists are up to AND reconnect with colleagues. Here's the sign up form.

1. It can add a relevant perspective - Anyone who has ever mentored an intern or APPE pharmacy major knows, if done well, it's a TON of work. But on rare occasion, you can find a great student to mentor or precept who can actually HELP YOU with your workload by providing RELEVANT perspective. I have my student giving a lecture on a process I took her through with the students in my nontraditional healthcare elective this fall. She literally got to see or hear one described, do one (on herself), and now, she'll get to teach it. See one, do one, teach one. Now, I don't trust EVERY student I've had on my watch to do this, but most are great and most have. I love that she has the student perspective AND the teaching point of view as well now that she personally has gone through the process. Teaching it turns you into an expert in it, because you have to understand it before you can teach it well.
2. Your mentees can serve as connectors FOR YOU - The students at least in APPEs talk. They know where the awesome preceptors and mentors are, and they love connecting awesome to more awesome. They've also had up to 10 different rotation experiences at 10 different companies (at least in pharmacy) and therefore can connect you to others in the profession as well. All you have to do is ASK.

That's a few, among many other reasons why mentoring is good for the MENTORS out there. We all know the benefits for mentees...but just like any relationship - the benefits GO BOTH WAYS!!!

BTW - 9/26 Networking Mentoring night at Butler University for Nontraditional pharmacists is below!

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Erin L. Albert is senior director of education at ASCP and a clinical instructor at Butler University. Opinions are her own.