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Welcome back to the BlackMed Connect podcast

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, affectionately known as the B-MED

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podcast , where we share inspiring

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stories of black physicians and physicians

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in training at the intersection

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of medicine , culture and

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innovation . So

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I want to tell you the story of a student

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named Ariana . She's a first

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year college student and she's interested

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in dermatology , but she doesn't know

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any dermatologists . There weren't

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any in her family and she's never really

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met a black dermatologist before . She's

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passionate about becoming a dermatologist

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and she has the work ethic , but

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she needs some more support , and

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that's where mentors come in . Mentors

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are experienced individuals that can help

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, guide , counsel and support someone

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with less experience . They're

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often considered a trusted advisor

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and it's important for a student

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like Ariana to find mentors

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to help her navigate to becoming a

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physician and getting into medical

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school . Not having a mentor

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is like trying to get to your destination

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without putting it in a GPS

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. You may know where you're going

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, but you don't know the steps to get there and it's

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easier to get lost . That's

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what a mentor and a strong mentor team

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can help you do , and here are three

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key tips to finding the mentor to

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help you along your journey . Tip

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number one I want you to make

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a list . Make a list of every

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single individual who you think could

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help you along the way . It

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could be a professor that you've had for a class

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, it can be a faculty advisor

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to an organization that you're part of at

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your school . But just make a list

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of people who may be able

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to help you build that connection to a mentor

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. Don't forget to think about

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individuals who may be at home

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that you may not see anymore . It

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may be a guidance counselor that you had in high

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school , or even your own physician

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who took care of you before you started as

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a pre-med . This list

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is just a starting point . These

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individuals may not exactly know how

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to get you there , but have conversations

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with them to see if they know

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individuals to help you get closer and

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closer to becoming that physician

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you want to be . So for

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Ariana , she went to her biology

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teacher . She let her biology

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teacher know that she was interested in dermatology

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. And guess what ? Her

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biology teacher knew ? The anatomy

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teacher . And the anatomy teacher's wife

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was a dermatologist . But if

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Ariana hadn't reached out to her biology

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teacher , she may not have built that connection

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to finding her first mentor in dermatology

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. So that's my first tip Make

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sure you make a list of potential individuals

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who can help you find a mentor

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and be a part of your tribe . Tip

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number two reach out to

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this individual or this group of individuals

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with intention . The key

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part here is with intention . There

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are so many times where I get emails

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where individuals may ask for mentorship

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but they don't know why they need mentorship

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or what stage they're at or what they're even

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asking me for . They just

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send an email because they know it's important to

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have a mentor . I don't want

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you to do that . That's what most people do . They

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don't reach out with intention . Your

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job is to reach out to this individual

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, let them know you're excited

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about what you know about their background

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and ask them for help in specific

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areas . So , for instance , for

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Ariana , she's looking for mentors

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to help her learn about research

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opportunities in dermatology . She's

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also looking for opportunities to

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shadow a dermatologist . So

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if she says that in the email to

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her new potential mentor , that

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person is very clear about why she

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wants to meet . So in

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reaching out to individuals , be sure

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to reach out with intention . Now

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there are three traps I want to make sure you avoid when

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reaching out to potential mentors . Don't

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get cold feet about this whole

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process . So many

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students assume that people are too busy or

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won't take the time for them , or oh , I'm insignificant , I

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don't matter . That is not true Most

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times . People specifically

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those who are already further along the

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journey are excited when somebody reaches out because

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they know they can help them navigate

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the path better . I

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know for me . When students ask me can

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I meet with you to connect about X , y and Z , I make time

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for students because I know how hard it

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is to make

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it across the finish line to med school and

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beyond . So don't get cold feet about reaching out to people you

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don't know . Most

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times it's a welcome to process . The

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next trap to avoid is reaching out to a person without knowing

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anything about them . It's

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really important to do your background

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homework . It's always critical to Google the person . If

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a person is a physician , ultimately they have a Google profile

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that tells you a little bit about

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their research , a little

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bit about how they take care of patients

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and their journey to medicine

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. So it's easy to put someone's name in

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and the practice they work

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at or the university they work for , just

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to get a little bit more insight before you email them

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. So don't be the person who reaches out without

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doing your background homework . Now

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that we've learned to reach out with intention

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, let's

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talk about what a strong mentorship relationship actually looks like . Let's

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talk about mentorship etiquette

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. When you're trying to reach out to a person who's

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a busy , working professional , you

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need to be professional too . So when

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you reach out , introduce yourself

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. Let them know who you are and why you want to

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meet with them . Share what

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the common connection is so

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they can see very clearly why you've reached

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out and make time for meeting with them . It's

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really important to set an agenda for the

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meeting . The day before

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your meeting , I want you to send a

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reminder email thanking the person

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for their time and being enthusiastic about the

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opportunity to meet with them . This

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way , if something has changed , especially

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for the busy doctors , then they'll be able to tell you

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hey , I may not

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be able to meet today , but let's reschedule . The

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reminder email refreshes their memory

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and gets them ready to meet with you . Next

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, I want you to show up on time to your meeting

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, whether it's virtual

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or in person , and be enthusiastic . Again

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, most doctors are really busy , so

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if they're taking the time , it's

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because they want to make time for you . Ask

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them good questions . Be very clear

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about why you want to meet and

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follow the agenda that you created . That way

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they can feel like , oh , this person's really organized and

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they have a plan for why they want to meet with them . Once

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you've had a great meeting with your mentor , I

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want you to set up the next meeting during the

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first meeting with the mentor . Go

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ahead and ask them is it okay if we

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meet every month , or is it

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okay if I reach back out to you in two weeks

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? How's next Thursday

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? At blank time . Know your availability

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up front and know when you want to meet

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back with the person , so they have a rough

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idea of the cadence that you're hoping

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to meet . If they can meet

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every few weeks or once a month , they'll

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let you know . If they can't , they may

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pull back and say I can meet

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every couple of months , and that way you

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can at least establish that rhythm of meetings

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with your potential mentor . The

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whole purpose of this is to let them know

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that you're serious about continuing the relationship

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. I can't tell you how many

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times I've had mentorship potential

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meetings and people have said they want

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to follow up , but then I don't hear from them again

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. So instead of you being

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that person who starts a relationship

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but doesn't continue it , you'll know

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to set up your next meeting before you finish

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your first one . One

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last tip I want to share is make

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sure you do the task that you discuss

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with your potential mentor . If

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they tell you to look online

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and find five research opportunities

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, then actually complete the task

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and email the person back and let them know

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hey , I looked up these five research

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opportunities Again . That

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shows your follow through . It shows your

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commitment and your organization . All

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of this becomes really important because if you're

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developing a strong mentor relationship

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, over time that person may be

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willing to write you a recommendation letter

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if you find ways to work closely

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with them . So from the first

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meeting and even from the first email

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, you're trying to make a good impression and

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show that you're organized and committed to

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the relationship and your ultimate success

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, which is the goal . Three key

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takeaways when finding your mentor

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are build a list of potential

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mentors , reach out

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with intention and be

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professional and set up your next meeting

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. Hope you enjoyed this episode

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of the BlackMedConnect podcast . I

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want you to do the work of finding your next mentor because they're

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waiting to connect with you . Be

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sure to like , comment and subscribe at

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BlackMedConnect . And until

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next time , always remember to

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dream without limits .