Medical Mentorship: Legacy Leadership Links in the Surgery Chain of Being

This short essay proposes that a 21st century surgeon should have the opportunity to be more competent than his or her earlier counterpart, particularly since he or she can learn so much from the accumulated knowledge of medical mentors. By means of Parental Youth-mentoring, Academic-mentoring, and ultimately, Professional-mentoring a legacy of medical leadership is built. As a consequence, the accomplishments of notable past practitioners from ayurvedic Salya-cikitsakas (sixth century B.C. ur-surgeons) to Harry J. Buncke, (1922- 2008), the American plastic surgeon, who has been called “The Father of Microsurgery,” forge the next surgery-forward link in the surgical chain of being.