Mentoring and Trust in High-Risk Scientific Professions

Abstract

Mentoring is an essential step in the learning process for many professions. In medicine, mentoring and working as an apprentice is vital to the education of future physicians. In other vocations, such as field biology, mentors help trainees learn how to navigate potentially dangerous situations, such as obtaining data on deadly animals. When lives are potentially at stake, are special mentoring skills required? The qualities of a good mentor and the benefits of mentoring have been explored by others. The question for this chapter is whether there are certain qualities that mentors bring to potentially life-threatening situations that help build trust and ensure the safety of all involved. The authors will explore this topic through the lens of their experiences and literature review. They each work in a field where trust in mentoring is vital. How does trust work in these situations and what can happen if a trainee and mentor do not trust or overly trust each other? As mentors and mentees walk the tightrope of these high-risk situations, how do they keep everyone safe?