Mentoring as a Factor of Professional Development and Motivation of Students of the Pediatric Faculty

Full Text

Every child in his carefree childhood years always strives to become someone. He begins to look at adults, adopt their ideas and hobbies. And I was no exception. As a child, I always liked to watch my mother as she was getting ready for work: ironing a bathrobe, collecting food, because she was waiting for a very responsible daily duty, and every time she was very sensitive about it.
Mom worked as a ward nurse at the children's city hospital. Even as a child, she taught me that it is necessary to help people, that helping others is the highest purpose of a person. But in order not to turn everything into harm, it is necessary to study and approach this with great responsibility. I was very impressed by her words, even inspired, and I decided back then, as a small child, that I also wanted to help people.
And so began my difficult path – the path to the profession of dreams. Yes, at first it was children's doctor games, then educational books with images of the human structure. Chemistry and biology were deeply studied at school. Even at school, I began to master additional material, read various magazines, articles on the Internet, because it was really interesting to me. And now, the finish line: state exams and goodbye school years.
I was standing on the threshold of the medical university, there was a lot of unreleased and interesting things ahead. Without hesitation, I decided to choose the pediatric faculty. At that moment, I realized for sure that I wanted to devote my life to helping children. Studying at the university makes me understand how necessary theoretical and practical knowledge is in the required volume and at the proper level in further competition for the required specialty [1]. However, a good student's preparation does not exclude the help of senior mentors, those from whom we will learn from the experience in the learning process as we once did in childhood. A mentor is someone who ensures the continuity of training, introduces the system of pediatric care in a children's hospital, and also introduces the features of maintaining the necessary documentation and planning the work of a pediatrician [2].
My mentor is a wonderful doctor, the head of the cardiorheumatology department of the VDKB VSMU named after N.N. Burdenko – Melon Olga Pavlovna. I can note that Olga Pavlovna is a strict person, but she is a true professional in her field and she has an individual approach to each little patient. As a mentor, she taught me a lot, for example, to overcome doubts about my knowledge, overcome self-doubt, apply not only theoretical but also practical knowledge in a real situation, as well as master communication skills with parents in matters of providing pediatric care to children. In the work of a doctor, it is important to take into account negative factors, such as a busy work schedule, the amount of work, stress, lack of the right to make mistakes and huge responsibility, as well as the insufficient level of trust of parents in the doctor, in view of their high awareness about the health of the child received from the Internet. Such factors need to be able not only to accept, but also to be able to interact with them correctly. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to constantly improve the level of professionalism, monitor new methods for the detection and treatment of children's diseases, monitor the constantly updated scientific community: articles, journals, conferences. It is this continuity in learning, a constant thirst for knowledge, that represents a correct understanding of the work of a pediatrician, because it is impossible to complete your self-education after passing the next exam or test. I am grateful that I have found my favorite occupation in life - to be a pediatrician. I am always interested in getting knowledge about the structure of the child's body: its anatomy, physiology, peculiarities of the work of organs and systems, and most importantly – ways to detect pathology and their therapy, and constant progress fuels warm relations with my friends and teachers.
Perhaps my humble, but life example will be a worthy help in the difficult question of determining the future profession for school graduates, as well as for those who are just thinking about linking their lives with the field of medicine. The population needs doctors who are able to help not only children, but also adults. The family doctor is a new trend in the improving world. In order to keep up with the current pace of medical development, it is important to introduce new methods of examination and treatment, but still nothing can replace the knowledge and experience of a good specialist, especially a pediatrician. It is not in vain that they say that a doctor is primarily a person whose activities are focused directly on the well–being of other people [3]. 
It is very important for me to see children healthy and happy. My happiness is to learn how to help them live a full happy life. I am sure that my help in the prevention and treatment of diseases of the child population will be needed and very important. After all, there is nothing more touching for me in this life – the smile of a healthy child.

About the authors

Maria Alekseevna Petrova

Voronezh State Medical University N.N. Burdenko

Email: media01@list.ru

5th year student of the Faculty of Pediatrics

Russian Federation, 394036, Russia, Voronezh, st. Student, 10

Alexander Vladimirovich Pochivalov

Voronezh State Medical University N.N. Burdenko

Email: detbol-vgma@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9444-0258

Professor of the Department of Propaedeutics of Children's Diseases and Pediatrics

Russian Federation, 394036, Russia, Voronezh, st. Student, 10

Olga Alekseevna Panina

Voronezh State Medical University N.N. Burdenko

Author for correspondence.
Email: media01@list.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7351-3638
SPIN-code: 5865-1257

Candidate of Medical Sciences, Assistant, Department of Nursing Organization

Russian Federation, 394036, Russia, Voronezh, st. Student, 10

References