Mentorship and Sponsorship in a Diverse Population

Imagine two residents (let us call them A and B) entering their chosen specialty of otolaryngology at the same time. They are the same gender and ethnicity, have the same board scores and class rank, have published the same number of peer reviewed research papers, and both have excellent letters of recommendation. Resident A matches into a department where every new resident is assigned a faculty mentor on arrival and expected to meet with them several times per year. On every rotation, resident A is asked to participate in research projects, and is coaxed into pursuing each rotations? subspecialty by faculty who give reasons why their field is the best. Resident B matches into a department where there is a more ?hands off? approach to mentorship. Mentoring relationships are expected to evolve organically, and faculty expect residents to approach them with their interests in research and career planning. Unless Resident B is clear about their career path and goals, who do you think will publish more, develop better relationships with faculty, and be more comfortable pursuing their desired fellowship? Now imagine that in addition to these different training environments, Residents A and B are different genders, ethnicities, or both. Or perhaps Resident B is the first person in their family to graduate from college, let alone medical school, and has little idea of how to navigate the hierarchical world of surgery and academia. How will the careers of these two residents differ over a