Impact of Quality Mentorship on Achievements of Shiraz Medical School in the 1970s and the Role of Professor Faramarz Ismail-Beigi

Almost four decades ago, an eminent physician, outstanding mentor and scholar, Professor Faramarz Ismail-Beigi (b. 1941) was appointed Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at Shiraz Medical School. Soon, this proved to be the beginning of a golden era in medical education at that center. Professor Ismail-Beigi invited outstanding teachers and physicians to collaborate with him. Their efforts during the next decade laid a strong and unique foundation for medical education based on quality mentorship and role-modeling. In this paper, we briefly highlight the importance of mentorship in medicine and medical education, followed by a glance at the academic life and career of Professor Ismail-Beigi and his role as a prominent mentor at the Shiraz School of Medicine.