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Matthew Taylor
Mentoring Project
August 4th 2015
The Role of Mentoring
Throughout this program, I have been introduced to many mentors that have greatly
influenced my understanding and learning of dosimetry. Each mentor has taught me something
different and has had the patience to let me make mistakes while also letting me develop my own
style of treatment planning. It has been a great experience to work with many different
professionals who have an abundance of experience under their belt. Prior to entering the Master
of Science program and University of Wisconsin La Crosse, I had earned a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Physics. My learning experience while obtaining this degree was vastly different. I
believe that had more mentorship been involved in select courses the learning experience would
have been more effective. In many courses I was very dissatisfied with the experiences involving
clarification and alternative explanations over certain concepts. Going into this program I was
hesitant to ask questions thinking I would get similar reactions towards questions requiring
elucidation. Fortunately, it has been the exact opposite and questions are highly encouraged in
order for learning to be accomplished. The environment has really brought to light the
importance of mentorship in learning and all the positive consequences that can come from it.
Mentoring has become an excellent way of teaching mentees a subject while also giving
them the freedom to develop their own style of working. This practice of learning can be seen in
many different forms in medical education including physical therapy, nursing and radiation
therapy.1 I believe an important aspect to these careers that are best taught through mentorship is
the idea of bedside manner. Mentorship allows for mentees to see how mentors consistently
communicate with patients. This will help the mentee develop ways of approaching different
situations they may encounter while working as a professional.
Mentoring for myself has allowed me to learn many different skills that arent necessarily
effectively taught through teaching. Organization, time management and interpersonal skills
have all been important and are essential when working as a professional medical dosimetrist. I
have had the opportunity to practice all these skills while working with my mentors in order to
work as a more fluent dosimetrist. I feel that learning these skills are most effective when

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mentors bring to light the importance of the skill set, but allow the mentee to develop their own
style of maintaining their work ethic. In an interview, with fellow mentor Scott Stoher (oral
communication, August 2015), he defined mentoring as giving someone the tools to learn or
do their job while also allowing them the space for creative freedom to accomplish learning at
will. While working with Scott, I have directly seen the impact of this style of mentoring and it
has played a vital role in my success towards becoming a proficient dosimetrist.
Being a successful mentor is not an easy thing to achieve. The mentor must posses many
different qualities and skills in order to develop a satisfactory relationship with the mentee in
order for the learning experience to be most effective. When discussing with fellow mentor
Jennifer Backus (oral communication, August 2015) what qualities a successful mentor should
posses she mentioned patience, listening skills, being able to explain concepts multiple ways and
leading by example. I believe all of these skills have played a pivotal role in establishing and
maintaining our learning relationship. Maintaining this personal connection between the mentor
and mentee will help in making sure the mentee is comfortable asking questions while also
helping the mentee understand constructive criticism.1 A successful mentor that can establish
such a relationship will also help in aiding a successful transition into the professional world for
the mentee. This step, in particular, I feel is most critical and should be consistently thought of
throughout the mentorship. As for myself, I consistently am seeing my mentors point out what is
standard at the clinic I am working at. My mentors are always quick to point out that many other
facilities may do something differently or the fact that many other facilities may not have as
many other treatment modalities. With these thoughts in mind, Ive learned and maintained my
understanding of many different treatment modalities that I may be working with more often
after the mentorship. This will have a tremendous help in my transition into the professional
world as I will know what to expect and what isnt necessarily the norm in the medical dosimetry
profession.
Mentoring has been proven to be a successful way of learning for people that are
involved in a mentorship. Many different components are involved when establishing a
relationship between a mentor and mentee. All of these components will be followed out
throughout the mentorship and are critical in developing the mentee into a professional for their

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career. These components will also help in creating the profession at hand and will play a part
in how the profession develops as people enter the job market.2

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References
1. Trad ML. Mentoring radiation therapy students: A review and survey. Radiation
Therapist. 2009;18(2): 101-103.
2. Lenards N. Mentoring. [SoftChalk]. LaCrosse, WI: UW-L Medical Dosimetry Program;
2015.

Appendix A

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Interview with Jennifer Backus
August 3rd, 2015
Q) Define mentoring in your own words.
A) Mentoring is not only teaching but leading by example and being willing to help and put
someone elses need before your own.
Q) How is a mentor different from a teacher?
A) For me, mentoring is leading by example. Im working, Im showing as Im doing. Not that
teachers dont want you to be successful, but youre taking my name out there with you wherever
you end up. I want to help you become the best dosimetrist you can be.
Q) What qualities should mentor posses?
A) Patience. Listening skills. Be able to explain things multiple ways and again be able to lead
by example.
Q) What advice could you give to someone who will eventually mentor someone?
A) Be a very patient person. Try to be able to see from other peoples perspectives and points of
view. Be willing to adapt and troubleshoot as need be.
Q) What have you learned from being a mentor?
A) I have more patience then I thought I ever had. Its fun and I enjoy it! I take pride in the fact
that people leave here learning and being able to be the best dosimetrist they can!

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Appendix B
Interview with Scott Stoher
August 3rd, 2015
Q) Define mentoring in your own words.
A) Mentoring is giving someone the tools to learn or do their job while also allowing them the
space for creative freedom to accomplish learning at will.
Q) How is a mentor different from a teacher?
A) I think a teacher at times is there just to teach a subject and lay out the facts. A mentor I think
is there more to help the person develop themselves in whatever area that they are in.
Q) What qualities should mentor posses?
A) A mentor should have a good knowledge of the subject, patience and I think probably one of
the hardest qualities is to be a good leader.
Q) What advice could you give to someone who will eventually mentor someone?
A) Know what youre going to be teaching inside or out. Whether it be dosimetry or not, know
the area as best as you can. Make sure you have enough patience to let the person you are
mentoring proceed at their own pace but also develop your style so you can push them along a
little bit when needed. Try to keep it going in a positive direction. A negative direction wont
always help. You arent going to always be as effective when going in a negative direction.
Q) What have you learned from being a mentor?
A) I have learned more patience because Ive learned that I tend to laser in on things really fast
and Im very detailed oriented. I think sometimes it takes people, they have to have a different
approach than I do or it takes them longer. Im learning and I have learned to be a little more
patient as mentorees come along. I think another thing I would throw in there then is one of the
qualities of a good mentor is to allow the person theyre mentoring to develop the qualities they
need in order to be successful in the area theyre in.