Title : Mentorship opportunities in dermatology for medical students: A comprehensive review
Abstract:
Mentorship is an invaluable aspect of medical training. It has especially been found to be crucial to a successful dermatology match. Medical students interested in dermatology often encounter challenges in obtaining mentorship from practicing dermatologists due to numerous factors such as geographic location, institutional resources and a lack of representation. Thus, multiple organizations and institutions have created mentorship programs for medical students pursuing dermatology. The literature currently lacks a comprehensive review of the dermatology mentorship programs available to medical students. This study aims to provide a detailed analysis of the available programs and their specific features. A PubMed, Embase and Google search identified 18 programs. These programs have various goals ranging from research, clinical experience and career advising. Many of them also prioritize specific demographics such as students who are considered underrepresented in medicine or students from medical schools that do not have a home dermatology program. While these mentorship opportunities have seen much success, there are still existing challenges that need to be addressed. Mentorship programs play a key role in empowering the next generation of dermatologists.
