Mentoring, the Surgical Sensei, and Micro-Mentoring Moments in Surgical Skills Training.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the role of mentoring in surgical training by presenting the concept of the surgical Sensei as a practical framework for understanding how surgeons develop technical expertise, professional judgement, and interpersonal practice. DESIGN: Conceptual article drawing on mentoring literature, surgical education scholarship, and selected concepts from martial traditions. The article frames mentoring as embedded in the everyday work of becoming a surgeon, rather than as an optional support activity. SETTING: Surgical learning environments, including operating theatres, wards, clinics, and skills laboratories. PARTICIPANTS: Surgical trainees, surgical trainers, faculty developers, and programme leaders involved in technical skills education and professional development. RESULTS: The article argues that surgical expertise is transmitted through sustained attention to fundamentals, micro-deconstruction of techniques, and disciplined awareness of the learner, the task, and the environment. It introduces "micro-mentoring moments": brief, often informal interactions that occur across surgical learning settings and cumulatively shape technical development, judgement, and professional comportment. CONCLUSIONS: Mentoring behaviors, like technical skills, can and should be practised away from patients in low-cost skills environments. Making mentoring explicit, teachable, and integrated into technical skills training may help surgical educators better support learners' development.