What is Affinity Groups

Mentoring is essential to professional development and socialization in many fields, but this relationship is critical to health professions practitioners. These professionals come to their respective disciplines with the requisite learning from their educational programs, but they will also benefit from the guidance of a mentor. Mentoring relationships allow mentees to move their practice along the continuum from novice to expert. This translates to safer, more coordinated care at the bedside and a more holistically developed practitioner. This chapter examines types of mentoring relationships and how professionals can decide which best meets their needs and goals. Review of the characteristics of effective mentors and mentees is an important element of this chapter, as it is crucial for those seeking these roles to know their responsibilities. Discussion of how mentoring diverse groups of health professions students will help to reduce disparities in healthcare is an important focus of this chapter.