Surgical mentorship in Canada in 2017
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* Yagan Pillay

I am writing in response to the editorial in the April issue of CJS1 detailing the history and relevance of surgical mentorship in Canada. As a participant in a mentorship program, I can personally attest to the relevance of this in the current surgical environment. Mentorship does not have to be exclusively for newly trained surgeons, but should also form part of the armamentarium for most surgical departments and can benefit surgeons in all aspects of their clinical practice. The ability to learn new techniques as well as brush up on existing techniques can only serve to reinforce the standard of care as espoused by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. As a rural surgeon in Northern Saskatchewan, the ability to learn new procedures is often hampered by lack of time and having to travel great distances.

As a result of my mentorship program, I was able to learn advanced laparoscopic skills in the very hospital in which I conduct my clinical practice, under the auspices of the chief of surgery, who had been performing the procedure for more than 20 years.

A surgical audit of my technique is currently underway, and preliminary results attest to the efficacy of surgical mentorship. Another often overlooked aspect of mentorship is working with nurses and operating room staff experienced in the technique, which only serves to reinforce the technique in the absence of the surgical mentor.

## Reference

1.  McAlister V.Doceo ergo sum: mentoring surgeons.Can J Surg 2017;61:76–7.