"A teacher effects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
Henry Brooke Adams
Oh...I know...who has the time to even consider taking on an intern? Good question. I think in order to start to answer this we may have to look at the culture of your group or department. I write this, not through the sole lens of private practice, but rather through multiple lenses; private, integrated or academic.
If you are in an academic institution, mentoring goes with the territory in my opinion, and I started in a academic setting. Let's consider some things...have you noticed the meta-narrative in medicine? It's change. No one is immune or isolated from this reality. More to the point here, our workforce is and will continue to change for quite some time. Some of us will be managing 4 different generations and you and I will fall somewhere within those generations. Some of these generations will be older and perhaps embracing new careers and some will be from the Generation Y group.
We know one reality that I think as medical executives, we need to truly start to take seriously, is succession planning. There will not be enough leaders to replace us with our collective experience as we leave leadership and management roles in healthcare.
I think from a planning and response viewpoint, this is just one of the drivers behind the MGMA-ACMPE merger. Our job? Mentor, challenge, inspire and energize the next generation of leaders. We may not even know if the person we are formally or informally mentoring will be a leader, but it just might be your influence and style that will get them hooked into this industry, with all of its ups, downs and environment for great stories.
Here are some ideas for mentoring:
Formal: Through an accredited School or University. You may have to network with the schools and it may take more time, but it will be worth it. This also creates a possible conduit for staff. I have a formal intern right now where we had to come up with clear objectives as to what she will accomplish with her time in our practice. This model is probably the most challenging, because the student/intern has to make a proposal based on what you may have on your plate 3 months from the time of submission.
Informal: Are you in an integrated system? Do you have multiple locations? Put out a call for an intern. Work with the other managers and try to isolate those that interested in management and/or leadership. A word of caution; make it clear to your managers that this is not a call to replace them, and explain the ongoing project. There is no reason you cannot mentor your managers-to mentor in return. You will be amazed at the ideas and energy that this could add to your current projects. The added benefit of having an intern from inside your organization is they are already familiar with the company. You have the platform-just build from there.
Consider this if you haven't already...reverse mentoring. Do you have some Generation X or Y folks in your organizations? They are really good at applying social media and navigating through this 'sea". Why not have them mentor or do short in-services to your other generational staff and physicians about this topic OR a topic they see is important and may be used in your organization? We joke in my practice that some of my physicians are just getting used to electricity...(no, really).
I challenge you all (especially the CMPE and FACMPE folks) that you take on at least one intern or individual to formally mentor during your career. Some did it for you-return the favor and pay it forward.