Episode Summary: The Fellow on Call – Episode 146

Career Development Series: Choosing Your Ideal Mentor
Podcast by Rouleaux University Medical Center
In partnership with the American Society of Hematology (ASH)
Release Date: February 25, 2026

Overview

In this special career development installment, the hosts of The Fellow on Call launch a new partnership series with the American Society of Hematology, focusing on the essential topic of mentorship in hematology and oncology. Guest hosts Nick Lee and Claire Drysdale, both ASH Trainee Council members, lead a vibrant conversation with two mentorship experts—Dr. Hetty Caraway (Director of the Leukemia Program, Cleveland Clinic) and Dr. Alfred Lee (Chief of Classical Hematology, Yale Cancer Center). The episode explores how to find, cultivate, and, if necessary, gracefully exit mentoring relationships, blending firsthand stories, practical advice, and memorable lessons.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power of Mentorship in Times of Uncertainty and Failure

• Both Dr. Alfred Lee and Dr. Hetty Caraway share transformative personal accounts highlighting that mentorship is most impactful during challenging moments.
  • Alfred’s Story: Facing unexpected academic failure, Dr. Lee recounts his struggle when his dissertation committee delayed his PhD graduation, how he leaned on non-traditional mentors, and the lessons learned on resilience (04:36).

    "No one, I think, prepares you for failure. And I would say that I learned a lot from failure. In fact, like, I think one of the biggest lessons I learned in my own life is that sometimes you learn more from failure than you learn from anything else." – Dr. Alfred Lee (05:55)

  • Hetty’s Story: Dr. Caraway reflects on being guided by serendipity and the people she admired in her early career, showing how passion and trusted mentors steered her toward hematology after a formative year in pathology (09:04).

    "As much as I thought and believed that I was pursuing something that I was interested in, I ultimately really think the kernel, the core of it all were the people." – Dr. Hetty Caraway (10:47)

2. How to Identify and Choose the Right Mentor

• Both experts emphasize that the “right” mentor is often someone you aspire to emulate in some significant way, whether for their research, clinical skill, life balance, or teaching style.
  • Dr. Lee suggests having a diversified “mentor committee”:

    "I used to tell people that I had three mentors. One person was the one I wanted to do research with. The second was the person whose career I wanted to ultimately model. And the third was the person that I could talk to about anything and not feel any judgment and know that person was always in my corner." – Dr. Alfred Lee (13:38)

  • Dr. Caraway (inspired by the book she’s reading) humorously describes the importance of a “likable badass” mentor—someone who is both kind and constructively critical and with whom you feel comfortable enough to be genuine (14:24).

    "Your mentor has to be a likable badass. So that person has to hold you accountable in a way that is both kind and also critical. And you have to be in a place where you're comfortable and you trust them enough to be honest with you." – Dr. Hetty Caraway (14:32)

  • Searching for shared interests outside of work (“the cheese table test”) as a way of gauging personal compatibility (15:02).

3. Navigating Mentorship Transitions & Ending Relationships Respectfully

• The episode tackles a common anxiety: what to do when mentorship needs change or the relationship is no longer a good fit.
  • Dr. Lee encourages ongoing self-reflection and open, frank communication about evolving expectations or interests. He notes the benefit of objective markers and “scripts” for these discussions (16:53).

    "At the core of every good mentor mentee relationship is figuring out a very trustworthy line of communication both ways, so that both the mentee and the mentor can talk candidly and supportively about times and instances where the relationship begins to change." – Dr. Alfred Lee (17:00)

  • Dr. Caraway underscores not to “burn bridges,” but to be honest and respectful when explaining changes, recognizing that time is a precious commodity for both parties (18:31).

    "If you're invested in somebody, then you have a conversation with them and say, I am invested in our relationship … and I want to walk through the why behind that, so that I can double back and touch back with you at some later point. You never know what's going to happen." – Dr. Hetty Caraway (19:08)

  • Both agree that feigned continuity or ignoring the change is ultimately damaging, and the healthiest mentor-mentee relationships are based on transparent mutual respect (22:11).

4. Mentees as Teachers & Mutual Growth

• Both guests point out that learning is truly bidirectional; mentors routinely gain just as much from their mentees.
  • Dr. Caraway describes learning everything from research tools to restaurant recommendations, and the importance of rediscovering joy and celebrating small wins through her mentees (23:41).

    "Stopping and celebrating, you kind of lose that piece of you. … Making sure that we pause and take time for that and celebrate one another. I think that's probably one of the things that I learn over and over from mentees." – Dr. Hetty Caraway (24:08)

  • Dr. Lee shares a humbling story about a former mentee devising a far superior clinical plan, underlining the exhilaration and pride a mentor feels in their mentee’s growth (24:20).

    "The plan that he came up with was so much better than mine … and I was like, oh, my gosh, he is such a better hematologist than I am. But it felt really exhilarating and rewarding." – Dr. Alfred Lee (24:44)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On growth through adversity:

  "There's a certain shame when you fail. … When I started to tell other people in the lab about what had happened, it felt surprisingly liberating." – Dr. Alfred Lee (06:42)

• On mentorship diversity:

  "You want to have different people for different things—someone you want to do research with, someone whose career you want to emulate, and someone who’ll always be in your corner." – Dr. Alfred Lee (13:40)

• On recognizing when to move on:

  "There are times where it is appropriate to just say, this isn't working for me, and you might not go back. And that might need to be okay because you need to stand up for it and be responsible for your own time and your own value of your own time." – Dr. Hetty Caraway (20:07)

• On joy in mentorship:

  "Just keeping that as a part of the joy in our life and making sure that we pause and take time for that and celebrate one another." – Dr. Hetty Caraway (24:14)

• On the evolution of mentees:

  "He is such a better hematologist than I am. But it felt really exhilarating and rewarding." – Dr. Alfred Lee (24:45)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 04:36 | Dr. Alfred Lee’s story of failure and resilience | | 06:42 | Processing failure and seeking support outside “traditional” mentors| | 09:04 | Dr. Hetty Caraway’s formative experiences following intuition and people| | 12:48 | Criteria for selecting a mentor | | 13:30 | The value of multiple mentors—“the mentorship committee” | | 14:24 | “Likable badass” and the cheese table test in mentor selection | | 16:53 | How and when to transition or end mentoring relationships | | 18:31 | Importance of honest, open conversations; not burning bridges | | 23:41 | Lessons mentors learn from mentees | | 24:20 | Dr. Lee on pride in a mentee’s clinical excellence |

Tone & Language

The episode maintains a conversational, supportive, and candid tone. Both experts are unflinchingly honest about their professional journeys, while the hosts and guest hosts foster a sense of shared experience, community, and encouragement for trainees at all stages.

Key Takeaways

• Mentorship is critical in both good times and periods of struggle. The best mentoring relationships help shape you, steer you through adversity, and help you grow into your own unique self.
• Seek mentors you aspire to resemble—but allow yourself to evolve by integrating various aspects from several people (“mentor committee”).
• Be honest and proactive in mentoring relationships. When professional or personal trajectories change, open dialogue about expectations and needs is healthiest for all.
• Value the bidirectionality of mentorship. Both mentors and mentees gain personally and professionally from the relationship.
• Choose people you relate to, inside and outside of work. Shared interests, mutual respect, and comfort build the strongest mentoring bonds.

For those charting their path in hematology/oncology or any medical discipline, this episode is a primer on purposeful, rewarding mentoring—with advice that’s as practical as it is heartfelt.