What Do Medical Students Want From a Mentor? (original) (raw)
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Characteristics of mentoring relationships formed by medical students and faculty
Medical Education Online, 2012
Little is known about the characteristics of mentoring relationships formed between faculty and medical students. Individual mentoring relationships of clinical medical students at Munich Medical School were characterized quantitatively and qualitatively. Methods: All students signing up for the mentoring program responded to a questionnaire on their expectations (n0534). Mentees were asked to give feedback after each of their one-on-one meetings (n 0203). A detailed analysis of the overall mentoring process and its characteristics was performed. For qualitative text analysis, free-text items were analyzed and categorized by two investigators. Quantitative analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon-test to assess differences in grades between students with and without mentors. Results: High-performing students were significantly more likely to participate in the mentoring program (p B0.001). Topics primarily discussed include the mentee's personal goals (65.5%), career planning (59.6%), and experiences abroad (57.6%). Mentees mostly perceived their mentors as counselors (88.9%), providers of ideas (85.0%), and role models (73.3%). Mentees emphasized the positive impact of the mentoring relationship on career planning (77.2%) and research (75.0%). Conclusions: Medical students with strong academic performance as defined by their grades are more likely to participate in formal mentoring programs. Mentoring relationships between faculty and medical students are perceived as a mutually satisfying and effective instrument for key issues in medical students' professional development. Practical implications: Mentoring relationships are a highly effective means of enhancing the bidirectional flow of information between faculty and medical students. A mentoring program can thus establish a feedback loop enabling the educational institution to swiftly identify and address issues of medical students.
Perceptions of Mentoring from Fourth Year Medical Students
2014
This mixed-methods research study investigated medical students' perspectives of professional mentoring through a web-based survey/needs assessment. The participants are fourth year medical students from three large urban research institutions and two regional branch campuses. The web-based survey/needs assessment was created, peer reviewed, and validated. A strategic sampling of focus groups was conducted to gather additional information regarding the results from the web-based survey. The information and data obtained from the survey and focus groups was used to provide recommendations for administrators and faculty about the mentoring program for each campus. A new proposed model of mentoring was developed upon analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The significance of this study includes not only the findings about medical school students' perspectives of professional mentoring, but also the development of a validated assessment tool able to inform administrators about perceptions of their medical students. 8 Table 1 (continued) Role Description Length of Time Academic Advisor An academic advisor is a person who focuses on providing information on degree requirements, technical guidance regarding requirements, and monitoring the students' progress through an academic program (Weil, 2001). This relationship does not go beyond advising to cover topics such as enhancing, promoting, the professional development of the student (Cohen, 1995; Johnson, 2007; Kram, 1985) This relationship can last from a semester to the entire length of the students' involvement in the academic program. Peer Mentor A peer mentor is described as a person engaging in a helping relationship with another individual of similar age, knowledge, and experience, with the two people willing to assist each other in achieving career related and psychosocial functions (Terrion, & Leonard, 2007) This relationship can last from a few months to a few of years. Group Mentor An individual who facilitates groups of mentees. The group shares experiences, challenges, and receive support from peers as well as the group mentor (Darwin & Palmer, 2010) This relationship can last from a few months to a few years (Darwin & Palmer, 2009) Role Model "An individual (real or theoretical) that is selected for emulation in one or a selected few of their roles" (ERIC, paragraph 1, 1973) Ranges from days to numerous years Critical issues in mentoring. According to Levinson's classic 1978 volume, The Seasons of a Man's Life, mentoring is defined as a stage in the life of all professionals. Older professionals have a personal need to give back to their profession and create a legacy. Levinson goes on to state that failure to have a mentor and serve as a mentor leads to psychological conflict (Levinson). Daloz (1999) stated that mentors are guides. Mentors lead their mentees along the journey of their life, both personally and professionally (Dunnington, 1996). According to Zerzan, Hess, Schur, Phillips, and Rigotti (2009), a mentor is defined as someone who is * Pearson Chi-Square exact test = 44.848, df=15 Summary of Quantitative Results The results of the quantitative web-based survey were described in the preceding sections. These results described quantitative answers to the eight research questions guiding this study. These quantitative results were used in the qualitative section (focus groups) of this study to seek further explanations of these results on each campus.
Mentoring Clinical-Year Medical Students: Factors Contributing to Effective Mentoring
Journal of medical education and curricular development, 2018
ThEoRY: Academic mentoring is an effective method of enhancing undergraduate medical student academic performance, research productivity, career planning, and overall satisfaction. hYpoThESES: This study investigates the relationship between mentor characteristics and mentee academic performance, with an emphasis on identifying students who need special support.
Mentoring in Medical Education: Impact on the Undergraduate Students
Introduction: Mentoring acts as a catalyst in moulding an efficient medical graduate. Although acknowledged that mentoring helps in successful career in medicine, the studies related to mentoring were hardly done from Telangana state. Objectives: The present study was designed to assess the perception of students on mentoring programme and its impact. Materials and Methods: It was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study done at Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally on MBBS 3 rd Semester students. Based on their experience in mentoring programme during I MBBS, they were asked to fill the questionnaire about perception of students about mentoring and how it helped them to improve. Results: Out of 122 students, 86 responded (70.93%-females, 29.07%-males). 43.1% attended all mentoring sessions, 54.6% missed few and 2.33% attended none. 57% of students benefitted from mentoring [academically (36%)/personally (4.7%)/both (16.3%)]. Most students (90.7%) preferred one-to-one mentoring. Only 68.6% had adequate contact with their mentor. The areas discussed during mentoring were mainly academic (34.9%-marks, attendance, exam preparation) and others like hostel, personal issues, stress management and so on. Only few students (12.8%) stated to have no barriers in communicating with mentor, whereas some students stated time constraints (43%), lack of concern from mentor (12.8%) and commitment by students (7%) as barriers. Students suggested that choice to be given in selecting their own mentors and address the above barriers. Discussion: Present study supports the significance of early implementation of mentoring. Most students preferred one-to-one mentoring. Successful mentorship requires personal interaction between two parties. Conclusion: Mentoring is an important tool in career progression of a medical student. A well-planned and goal-oriented mentoring programme benefits the mentees.
MedEdPublish, 2022
Background: Mentorship is a necessary component for young students to pursue a career in medicine. In medically underserved areas, mentorship can be sparse due to the lack of access to healthcare professionals. The purpose of this project was to gain an understanding of the mentorship received by practicing medical students. Methods: The authors conducted structured, one-on-one interviews with 10 current medical students about their perceptions and experiences with mentorship. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed for themes and subthemes. Results: Our findings revolve around three time periods of mentorship: 1) Before Obtaining a Mentor; 2) During the Mentorship; and 3) After the Mentorship. In our findings we describe key characteristics such as professional development, personal qualities of the mentor, and professional and personal guidance as important components in guiding the mentee starting from the undergraduate level and continuing to their current level of edu...
Being a mentor for undergraduate medical students enhances personal and professional development
Medical Teacher, 2010
Background: There is increasing evidence of the positive effects of mentoring in medical undergraduate programmes, but as far as we know, no studies on the effects for the mentors have yet been described in the field of medicine. Aim: This study aims to evaluate an undergraduate mentor programme from the mentors' perspective, focusing particularly on the effect of mentorship, the relationships between mentoring and teaching and the mentors' perceived professional and personal development. Methods: Data was gathered through a questionnaire to all 83 mentors (response rate 75%) and semi-structured interviews with a representative sample of 10 mentors. Results: Findings show, for example, that a majority of respondents developed their teaching as a result of their mentorship and improved their relations with students. Most respondents also claimed that being a mentor led to an increased interest in teaching and increased reflections regarding their own values and work practices. Conclusion: Being a mentor was perceived as rewarding and may lead to both personal and professional development.
BMC Medical Education, 2015
Background: Mentoring has been employed in medical education in recent years, but there is extensive variation in the published literature concerning the goals of mentoring and the role of the mentor. Therefore, there is still a need for a deeper understanding of the meaning of mentoring for medical students' learning and development. The aim of this qualitative study is to explore how formal and longitudinal mentoring can contribute to medical students' professional development. Methods: Sixteen medical students at a Swedish university were interviewed individually about their experiences of combined group and one-to-one mentoring that is given throughout their studies. The mentoring programme was focused on the non-medical skills of the profession and used CanMEDS roles of a physician for students' self-assessment. Data were analysed using a latent, interpretive approach to content analysis. Results: The results comprise three themes: Integrating oneself with one's future role as a physician, Experiencing clinical reality with the mentor creates incentives to learn and Towards understanding the professional competence of a physician. The mentorship enabled the students to create a view of their future professional role and to integrate it with their own personalities. The students' understanding of professional competence and behaviour evolved during the mentorship and they made advances towards understanding the wholeness of the profession. This approach to mentorship supported different components of the students' professional development; the themes Integrating oneself with one' s future role and Towards understanding the professional competence of a physician can be regarded as two parallel processes, while the third theme, Experiencing clinical reality with the mentor creates incentives to learn, promotes these processes. Conclusions: Formalized and longitudinal mentoring focusing on the non-medical skills can be recommended to help medical students to integrate their professional role with themselves as individuals and promote understanding of professional competence in the process of becoming a physician.
Advances in Health Sciences Education, 2012
Mentoring has been used in different health care educational programmes, but the core of mentorship, i.e., facilitating the development of medical students' professional competence, has not been explored in depth in the literature. In order to create effective and meaningful mentoring programmes, there is a need for deeper knowledge of the meaning of formal mentorship and, for this, the students' experiences are important. A mentoring program was set up where all medical students were offered a mentor during their first clinical courses; years 3-4. The mentors were physicians and their role as mentors was to support the students and act as sounding-boards, not to teach or assess knowledge. This study aimed to get a deeper understanding of the meaning of mentorship seen from the perspective of undergraduate medical students. A qualitative approach with individual interviews (N = 12) and inductive content analysis was chosen to investigate and interpret the meaning of mentorship. The results comprise three overarching themes: Space, Belief in the future and Transition. Having a mentor gave a sense of security and constituted a 'free zone' alongside the undergraduate programme. It gave hope about the future and increased motivation. The students were introduced to a new community and began to identify themselves as doctors. We would argue that one-to-one mentoring can create conditions for medical students to start to develop some parts of the professional competences that are more elusive in medical education programmes, such as reflective capacity, emotional competence and the feeling of belonging to a community.