Nephrology faces a persistent workforce challenge, and mentorship is one of our strongest tools for drawing trainees into the field and keeping them there. A good mentor does more than teach acid-base or dialysis prescriptions. They open doors, protect time, guide career decisions, and model what a sustainable life in nephrology looks like.
But mentorship can also go wrong. Chopra, Edelson, and Saint described "mentor malpractice" in JAMA, and it comes in two forms.
Active malpractice includes the hijacker, who takes over a mentee's project, and the exploiter, who assigns busywork that serves the mentor's goals. The possessor blocks outside collaboration, and the saboteur undermines the mentee's progress.
Passive malpractice is quieter and often more common. The bottleneck sits on manuscripts for months. The world traveler is never available, and the country clubber avoids conflict and so never gives honest feedback.
For a specialty working to recruit, these failures cost us future nephrologists.
The fix starts with clear expectations, regular check-ins, shared authorship agreements, and mentorship teams rather than a single mentor. Mentees can help too, by setting agendas and asking for feedback.
Mentor well. Our field depends on it.
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