There’s no doubt that residents and fellows at Mayo Clinic leave with a top-tier knowledge base and clinical education, says Hannah Berman, M.D. (I ’22, DERM ’25), a dermatology resident and president of the Mayo Fellows’ Association at Mayo Clinic in Florida.

But as professionals who often need to network with colleagues, present at conferences, meet with funders and interview for future positions, medical knowledge alone isn’t enough for a fruitful career, she says. 

“Everyone leaves Mayo on a similar clinical playing field. But everyone’s going out into the world and representing Mayo Clinic beyond just their clinical knowledge,” says Dr. Berman. “We want to make sure that we’re also on the same playing fields as far as networking, socializing and really representing Mayo Clinic well.”

Dr. Berman is one of the co-creators of a Professional Development Series of interactive workshops for residents and fellows at Mayo Clinic in Florida. The workshops provide a safe and encouraging learning environment where trainees can work on their “soft skills” to help them as they network, fundraise and interview for future positions.

PROFESIONALISM PRACTICE

The idea for the professionalism workshops was partially borne out of the experiences of recent trainees whose academic careers had been overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After COVID, so many of our trainees, including medical students, residents and fellows, had done a lot of interviewing and socializing virtually,” says Dr. Berman. “So coming out of (the pandemic), people were uncomfortable in what would otherwise be normal social professional social situations.”

In the spring of 2024, the Mayo Fellows Association in Florida — with support from Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education leadership — hosted a workshop focused on helping trainees make a good first impression. It was intended as a one-time event, but feedback was so positive that the team decided to expand it into a series, Dr. Berman says.

A second workshop in the fall of 2024 focused on social etiquette and networking in a business professional setting. After learning about core soft skills such as confident body language, effective handshakes, group dining etiquette, and engaging in communication with potential employers or donors, attendees got a chance to use these skills during a staged mocktail event. Attendees practiced introducing themselves, making a good first impression, and offering an elevator pitch of their work to actors portraying employers and donors. Participants then received personalized feedback on their performance.

A third set of workshops in the spring of 2025 focused on practicing personal elevator pitches and interview techniques. At one of these events, MFA administrative partner Brandon Lovell started the event with a talk about how to “be authentically yourself and have a conversation,” within an interview.

This was followed by a group exercise to practice delivering an elevator pitch, followed by a paired partner activity again practicing one’s pitch. At the end of the event, each participant had a one-on-one mock interview with an standardized actor. A faculty member oversaw the interview and delivered personalized feedback afterwards.

The importance of practice and repetition has been a theme of these workshops.

“You have to practice. You got to get repetitions; we have a whole simulation center for you guys to get reps,” Lovell told attendees. “If you played sports, you know the importance of practicing the sport before you go and perform the sport, right? Well, this is the same thing.”

Dr. Berman agrees and says everyone has different degrees of comfort in social settings and communication. But those who are less comfortable don’t need to simply accept that they are shy or poor public speakers; the events challenge them to put in the work to improve.

“It’s the same for everything you’re learning in residency. For example, some people are going to be better at suturing than others. It’s a physical skill, but you can learn that skill and practice it more,” says Dr. Berman.

Attendee Sheev Zaver, M.D. (I ’26), an internal medicine resident, was grateful for the opportunity to exercise his interviewing skills.

“I’m actually applying for fellowships now, and interviews are coming up in the next few months,” Dr. Zaver says. “So this is a big opportunity for those of us who haven’t been in the (interviewing) arena for two years to come in, practice and see where we can make improvements.”

ALL SKILL LEVELS WELCOME

These events aren’t intended only for the shy or introverted; those more naturally adept at interpersonal skills can attend the workshops to further enhance and refine their techniques.

Marisa Zayat, M.D. (I ’27), is an internal medicine resident and self-proclaimed extrovert who enjoys mock interviews. But she was still excited to attend the networking and interviewing workshops for extra practice.

“No matter where you go, you’re always going to have interviews in front of you, so it’s always good to hone those communication skills,” Dr. Zayat says. “At the very least, you’re going to be interviewing your patients and need to communicate with them effectively. I feel like this is a very transferable skill.”

And even though she’s well-practiced, she came away from the event with helpful feedback to consider. 

“I think one thing for me I’ll be taking away from today is using body language and nonverbal communication to its strength,” Dr. Zayat says. “I think moving forward, I’m going to continue using some more nonverbal cues to hopefully engage the person I’m talking to.”

Dr. Zayat is not the only happy customer. Feedback from attendees as documented in pre- and post-event surveys, has shown high satisfaction with these events. For example, the post-event survey on the interview workshop showed that all respondents somewhat or strongly agreed with statements like, “After today, I feel more confident approaching interviews,” and “I know how to prepare for an interview.”

Dr. Berman says anecdotal feedback has been similarly appreciative, pointing to the need for more future workshops.

“People were requesting to return to the same session for more practice. People have told us that this was directly applicable to interviews they’ve had following the session. Or they’ve gone to conferences where they’ve been able to confidently talk to people and secure future positions,” she says. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive.