The Absent Mentorship Gap

You expected your practicum to be transformative. Beyond learning technical skills, you hoped for meaningful conversations about career paths, professional development advice, and guidance from someone further along the public health journey. Instead, interactions with your preceptor focus exclusively on project tasks. Meeting agendas cover deliverables and deadlines, not your professional future. The mentorship you anticipated feels absent.

This gap between expected and actual mentorship is common. Understanding why it occurs and how to fill it allows you to take ownership of your professional development rather than waiting for guidance that may never come.

Why Mentorship Often Falls Short

Preceptors agree to supervise students for various reasons. Some are passionate mentors. Others are assigned students by their organizations. Many fall somewhere between, willing to provide supervision but unsure about the mentoring role or constrained by time and competing priorities.

Your preceptor may not see mentorship as part of their responsibility. They may interpret their role narrowly as ensuring you complete required hours and deliverables. Or they may assume you will ask if you want career advice, not realizing you are waiting for them to offer it.

Some preceptors feel unqualified to give career guidance. They may be uncertain about their own career trajectory or feel that the field has changed since they started. Others worry about giving advice that might not suit your particular situation and interests.

Creating Mentoring Conversations

If you want mentorship, you must often initiate it. Ask your preceptor directly about their career path. How did they get into public health? What decisions proved pivotal? What would they do differently knowing what they know now? Most people enjoy discussing their professional journey when asked thoughtfully.

Request informational conversations explicitly. Ask if they would be willing to spend fifteen minutes discussing career questions separate from project work. Framing it as a distinct request, rather than trying to squeeze it into task-focused meetings, signals that you value their perspective and respect their time.

Come prepared with specific questions. Vague requests for advice are difficult to address. Instead, ask about particular decisions you face: Which specialization should you pursue? How important is a doctoral degree in their area? What skills prove most valuable in their work? Specific questions enable specific, useful answers.

Expanding Your Mentorship Network

Relying on a single mentor, even an excellent one, limits your perspective. Build relationships with multiple people who can offer different types of guidance. Your preceptor provides one viewpoint. Faculty members, other professionals at your site, alumni of your program, and connections through professional associations each contribute different insights.

Seek out professionals whose paths interest you. If you admire someone's work or career trajectory, reach out. Most public health professionals remember their own training and are willing to offer brief informational conversations. Professional conferences, LinkedIn, and alumni networks provide access to potential mentors beyond your immediate circle.

Peer mentorship matters too. Classmates and fellow practicum students share your current challenges and can offer relevant support. As you progress in your career, some of these peers will become valuable professional connections who understand your journey because they lived it alongside you.

Making the Most of Limited Guidance

Even brief mentoring interactions have value when you approach them strategically. Before any mentoring conversation, clarify what you hope to learn. Arrive with specific questions and the context needed to answer them. Take notes so you can reflect on and apply the guidance.

Follow up on advice you receive. If a mentor suggests you explore a particular area or reach out to someone, do it. Then let them know what happened. This follow-through demonstrates that you value their input and makes them more willing to invest in future conversations.

Look for mentorship in unexpected places. Colleagues at your practicum site who are not your preceptor may have relevant experience. Professional development workshops and webinars offer insights even without personal connection. Books, podcasts, and blogs by public health professionals provide mentorship at scale.

Building Long-Term Mentoring Relationships

Mentorship relationships deepen over time. Your preceptor may become a more engaged mentor as they get to know you and see your potential. Initial task-focused interactions sometimes evolve into lasting professional relationships with ongoing guidance.

Stay connected after your practicum ends. Update former preceptors on your progress periodically. Express gratitude for their contribution to your development. These sustained connections can provide mentorship and support throughout your career.

The mentorship you need exists, though perhaps not in the form you expected. By taking initiative, diversifying your sources of guidance, and approaching mentorship strategically, you can build the professional development network that supports your growth in public health.