When experts are asked how they arrived at their level of performance, they often discuss their mentors. Similarly, the therapist who pursues residency education frequently seeks the opportunity to receive ongoing clinical supervision and mentoring from highly skilled practitioners, acknowledging: "I want to be able to do that or to solve those kind of complex problems". This is part of their internal drive and motivation. The clinical mentoring experience is at the core of fellowship education and is a major factor that governs the success of a program in meeting its goals and objectives.

Many factors contribute to the success of the mentoring experience:

• The program’s philosophy toward clinical mentorship
• The allocation of sufficient resources for seeking qualified faculty and facilitating their ongoing mentoring skills
• The communication between the fellowship program director, fellow and faculty, so that the mentoring experience is continually linked to the academic components of the program and is tailored to the fellow’s changing performance

Within clinical education, the terms preceptorship or mentorship tend to be used interchangeably. However, as described in the educational literature, these are distinctly different experiences. The chart below compares the characteristics of a preceptorship with those of a mentorship.

• Random matching of the preceptor with the trainee
• A structured program for learning is in place with identified performance outcomes
• The preceptor guides the trainee primarily in practice development and clinical competence
• The individuality of the trainee is emphasized and the dynamics of learning are interactive and unpredictable
• Assistance in socialization is related more specifically to the clinical environment
• The preceptor/trainee relationship is of shorter duration (less than 1 year)

• A natural, self-chosen relationship, one that is self selected
• An informal, undefined program
• The mentor serves as a wise, reliable counselor and is concerned with professional development in terms of broader career issues
• The mentor widens the protégé’s professional network and makes social and professional introductions
• The mentor/protégé relationship is long term, usually several years
• Has a natural beginning and end that is mutually determined

At the heart of mentorship is collaboration and reflective practice. Reflective practice is not just "critical thinking" but rather the deliberate and systematic use of reflection as a learning tool in professional practice. The 2 key concepts here are reflection and deliberation. Reflection is the thinking about the action both during and after the events.

This thinking is critical and evaluative: "What could I have done?" "What should I do now?" Mentors help facilitate this process. A second element is deliberation: "What ought I to do now for the good of the patient?" This includes the moral dimension and the use of practical reasoning and wisdom.

Research on expert practice in physical therapy also shows that listening to the patient is a central component of expert practice. The patient is a valued and trusted source of knowledge. Experts focus on knowing the patient’s valued activities and goals, how movement problems may interfere with those activities, and what kind of support systems they have in place. Furthermore, experts focus on collaboratively solving the problems rather than laying blame, or judging or labeling a patient. If the therapist is having a difficult time finding a successful intervention, often it is because he/she needs to learn or to find out more. Advocacy is a responsibility taken seriously by experts, as they believe they have the obligation to insist on the best possible care for their patients.