Faculty Mentorship of Academic Surgeons

In medicine, careers are built not only on individual effort but also on the relationships that support growth along the way. Three terms often come up in this context— mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching. While they sometimes get used interchangeably, each plays a very different role in shaping the careers of physicians and scientists.

Mentorship is perhaps the most familiar. At its core, mentorship is about guidance and support. A mentor helps a student, trainee, or junior colleague navigate the complexities of academic medicine, offering advice, perspective, and encouragement. This relationship is often long-lasting and evolves as the mentee grows. Mentorship is especially valuable early in one’s career—during training, as clinical and research interests take shape, or when facing the uncertainty of balancing professional and personal goals.

Sponsorship, on the other hand, goes a step further. A sponsor doesn’t just advise; they actively advocate. Sponsors put their own reputation on the line by nominating junior colleagues for leadership positions, recommending them for speaking opportunities, or highlighting their work to national audiences. Sponsorship is public, and it can be transformative. It often becomes most critical at the mid-career stage, when visibility and opportunities are the currency of advancement. A sponsor helps ensure that talent does not remain hidden.

Coaching fills yet another niche. Unlike mentorship or sponsorship, coaching is structured, time-limited, and highly focused. A coach’s role is to help someone sharpen specific skills, set goals, and reach peak performance— whether that’s refining leadership ability, improving communication, or learning to navigate conflict effectively. Coaching is especially useful during times of transition, such as stepping into a new leadership role, preparing for promotion, or managing new professional challenges.

Each of these relationships— mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching—serves a distinct purpose. Mentorship provides wisdom and perspective, sponsorship opens doors, and coaching fine-tunes performance. A successful career in medicine often requires all three at different times, and knowing when to seek each type of support can make the difference between steady progress and extraordinary growth.

In examining this topic further, I decided to speak with one of my own mentors, Timothy C. Flynn, MD, an emeritus professor of surgery at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Dr. Flynn, a vascular surgeon by training, has had a long and distinguished career spanning roles in both clinical and graduate medical education leadership, including serving as a residency program director, chief medical officer, and senior associate dean for academic affairs, designated institutional official, and chair of the ACGME board of directors. “One of the great joys of my career has been watching young people develop and grow,” Dr. Flynn said. “Look and see what motivates people, what really gives them joy.”

But mentorship may not necessarily be easy for either party. Dr. Flynn relates that “being a good mentor involves having the authority and courage to redirect a mentee away from what’s not good for them. Help them learn from their failures, and your own failures as a mentor.” If an individual is contemplating serving as a mentor, the responsibility is a great one. “There is great power in having a more senior person show interest in you,” said Dr. Flynn. And in looking for potential mentors, it is important to look beyond just one’s own specialty. “The most important factor in mentor-to-mentee pairing is that their values match. A good mentor-to-mentee relationship is more aligned along similar values, not based strictly on specialty or gender, for example.”

Dr. Collins is a professor and chairman, department of otolaryngology–head and neck surgery, division chief for pediatric otolaryngology, and interim chair of emergency medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville.