Group mentorship for undergraduate medical students-a systematic review

What makes mentors thrive? An exploratory study of their satisfaction in undergraduate medical education

BACKGROUND

Mentoring medical students with varied backgrounds and individual needs can be challenging. Mentors' satisfaction is likely to be important for the quality and sustainability of mentorships, especially in programs where the mentor has responsibility for facilitating a group of mentees. However, little is known about what influences mentors' satisfaction. The aim of this study was to measure mentors' self-reported satisfaction with the mentoring experience and to explore associations between satisfaction and its putative factors.

METHODS

An online survey was sent out to all physician mentors in each of the three mentorship programs (UiT The Arctic University of Norway, the University of Bergen, and McGill University, graduation years 2013-2020, n = 461). Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, dimension reduction, and linear regression.

RESULTS

On a scale from 1 to 5, mean mentor satisfaction score at two Norwegian and one Canadian medical school was 4.55 (95% CI 4.47, 4.64). In a multilevel multivariate regression analysis, two predictors were significantly associated with mentors' satisfaction: (1) the perception that students found the group meetings valuable (β = 0.186, 95% CI 0.021, 0.351, p = 0.027) and (2) mentors' perceived rewards (β = 0.330, 95% CI 0.224, 0.437, p < 0.001). Perceived rewards included experiencing gratifying relationships with students, and mentors' perception of self-development.

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, mentors appeared to be highly satisfied with their mentoring functions. Our findings suggest that mentors' overall satisfaction is closely linked to their experiences of fulfilling mentor-student relationships and personal and professional development. Interestingly, and perhaps contrary to commonly held assumptions, we found no association between mentor satisfaction and financial compensation. Furthermore, satisfaction was not associated with the provision of pre-assigned topics for discussions for mentor group meetings. We propose that the mentors' experienced psycho-social rewards, and their competence in establishing well-functioning group dynamics, should be areas of focus for faculty development.

Empathy in family medicine postgraduate education: A mixed studies systematic review

PURPOSE

Empathy is an important construct in patient-physician relationships, particularly critical in family physicians' daily practice. We aimed to understand how empathy has been conceived and integrated into family medicine postgraduate training.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Medline, PsyINFO, and Embase were searched in this systematic mixed studies systematic review. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts and full texts. Disagreements were solved through research team consensus-based discussion. Included studies were synthesized thematically.

RESULTS

A total of 18 studies were included. Four themes were identified. (1) Empathy definition. Included studies stressed the cognitive component of empathy, paired either with a behavioural or an affective response. (2) Empathy modifiers. Starting residency right after medical school, having a role model, having high empathy levels before residency, having children, being married, and being exposed to patient involvement in education were found to have a positive impact on empathy. (3) Empathy-burnout relationship. Whereas greater burnout was related to lower empathy levels, excess empathy seems to favour burnout through 'compassion fatigue.' (4) Educational programs for empathy development. Five programs were identified: a communication workshop, a patient-led program, a mindfulness program, a family-oriented intervention, and an arts-based program.

CONCLUSIONS

Studies mostly measured the cognitive component of empathy. The moral component of empathy was underrepresented in the conceptualization of empathy and the development of educational interventions. Conflicting evidence exists regarding the decline of empathy levels during the family medicine residency. Longitudinal designs should be privileged when exploring the evolution of empathy levels across the continuum of medical education.

Maximizing Mentorship Throughout Your Breast Imaging Career

Unlike many other subspecialties in radiology, breast radiologists practice in a patient-facing and interdisciplinary environment where team building, communication, and leadership skills are critical. Although breast radiologists can improve these skills over time, strong mentorship can accelerate this process, leading to a more successful and satisfying career. In addition to providing advice, insight, feedback, and encouragement to mentees, mentors help advance the field of breast radiology by contributing to the development of the next generation of leaders. During the mentorship process, mentors continue to hone their listening, problem-solving, and networking skills, which in turn creates a more supportive and nurturing work environment for the entire breast care team. This article reviews important mentorship skills that are essential for all breast radiologists. Although some of the principles apply to all mentoring relationships, ensuring that every breast radiologist has the skills to be both an effective mentor and mentee is key to the future of the profession.

Key Attributes of a Medical Learning Community Mentor at One Medical School: The Mentee Perspective

To assess the elements necessary to be a successful learning community (ClinCalc) mentor to medical students from the mentee's perspective. Few such studies have utilized the in-depth and richness of detail obtained in qualitative studies. This qualitative study analyzed four focus group discussions lasting 45-90 min conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, which has an established LC, in the year 2018. The groups included 14 pre-clerkship and 8 clerkship students. Investigators evaluated transcriptions of the focus group discussions using ATLAS.ti software. Three overarching categories of discussion emerged from the group discussions: (1) Relationship Competence, (2) Teaching Competence, and (3) Ethical and Compassionate Medical Practice Competence. Relationship Competence themes included "walk with me," relationship is most important, and one-on-one. Teaching Competence themes included above and beyond, recognize and address mentor limitations, and safe and enriching environment. Ethical and Compassionate Medical Practice Competence themes included ethical decision making and compassionate care for diverse patient populations. Mentees focused on various aspects of the mentor-mentee relationship as the single most essential competence. Themes mentees discussed as important qualities of a successful mentor may denote qualities to be prioritized in faculty development and mentor recruitment. Future studies could investigate how the LC environment informs former medical students and promotes patient outcomes.

The teacher as coach: An innovative, longitudinal training for (bio)medical educators

BACKGROUND

In order to be impactful, to support students to become resilient, adaptive, and collaborative lifelong learning professionals in an ever-changing environment requires the teachers to have a specific set of skills and abilities. Teachers who are not taught these competencies struggle empirically and cannot coach students effectively in the modern professional world.

APPROACH

We developed a longitudinal programme for teachers, combining theory and skills training, and performed nine half-day hands-on training modules on campus. Special attention was paid to a common frame of mind, coaching techniques, and dealing with students' emotions and resistance.

EVALUATION

All 16 participating teachers indicated their learning goals beforehand and their learning outcomes afterwards. Before and after finishing the course, participants completed a questionnaire in which they evaluated their own evolving coaching competencies. In the next academic year, students of both participants and non-participants evaluated their teachers' coaching competencies. Participants experienced the added value of coaching and understood how to coach. They reported being able to focus on fostering the student's development instead of being knowledge-transferring and advising mentors. Students recognised that coaching teachers (participants) provided less advice and focused more on students' responsibility.

IMPLICATIONS

To prepare teachers for coaching students in their professional development, early investment is recommended. A dedicated coach training programme, as outlined by us, can facilitate and stimulate the desired transition from a role-modelling, knowledge-transferring academic teacher, mentor, or adviser to a professional development coaching teacher. When translating to other curricula, we recommend to take into account the adaptation of generic content in the local learning environment.

Is student mentoring career-defining in surgical disciplines? A comparative survey among medical schools and medical students for mentoring programs

Objective

Facing a shortage of young surgeons, this study aimed to examine the availability of mentoring programs and if this can counteract this lack.

Summary background data

Medical mentoring programs have proven to be decisive to influence students' later career decisions. Since their structure may depend on the medical school and the effort of single disciplines, the offers are often very heterogeneous.

Methods

Anonymous online-questionnaires were developed and distributed among medical students in Germany and the dean for teaching of the medical schools from July 2019 to January 2020 in Germany. Data of the availability of mentoring programs, their structure and the impact of surgery were collected.

Results

Forty three medical schools participated, with 65% offering mentoring programs. 18 of medical schools had no additional funding available for this. Surgical subjects participated in these programs in only 30%. Additionally, 1,516 medical students participated in the second survey. A total of 70% had already participated in a mentoring program with a significantly higher proportion of men. Of these, 94% stated that this was helpful and had an impact on their career planning, without any gender differences. 95% would participate in structured surgical mentoring programs and 95% agreed that this could have an impact on their career planning.

Conclusion

Mentoring programs may be able to influence career planning, nevertheless participation by surgical specialties has been low. Becoming more active in providing mentoring programs with a special focus on women and offering more surgical content can be a way to counteract the lack of surgical trainees.

Mentoring is in the 'I' of the beholder: supporting mentors in reflecting on their actual and preferred way of mentoring

BACKGROUND

An important strategy to support the professional development of mentors in health professions education is to encourage critical reflection on what they do, why they do it, and how they do it. Not only the 'how' of mentoring should be covered, but also the implicit knowledge and beliefs fundamental to the mentoring practice (a mentor's personal interpretative framework). This study analyzed the extent to which mentors perceive a difference between how they actually mentor and how they prefer to mentor.

METHODS

The MERIT (MEntor Reflection InstrumenT) survey (distributed in 2020, N = 228), was used to ask mentors about the how, what, and why of their mentoring in two response modes: (1) regarding their actual mentoring practice and (2) regarding their preferred mentoring practice. With an analysis of covariance, it was explored whether potential discrepancies between these responses were influenced by experience, profession of the mentor, and curriculum-bound assessment requirements.

RESULTS

The averaged total MERIT score and averaged scores for the subscales 'Supporting Personal Development' and 'Monitoring Performance' were significantly higher for preferred than for actual mentoring. In addition, mentors' experience interacted significantly with these scores, such that the difference between actual and preferred scores became smaller with more years of experience.

CONCLUSIONS

Mentors can reflect on their actual and preferred approach to mentoring. This analysis and the potential discrepancy between actual and preferred mentoring can serve as input for individual professional development trajectories.

Defining Advising, Coaching, and Mentoring for Student Development in Medical Education

Medical school curricula integrate classroom academic teaching, hands-on clinical training, longitudinal professional development, and identity formation to prepare students to enter the healthcare workforce as residents. Mentorship, coaching, and advising are well-recognized approaches used by educators to help young learners accomplish their personal and professional goals and objectives. However, undergraduate medical education literature has not clearly articulated the distinctions between the roles and core responsibilities of each guidance approach. Attempts to describe each role and responsibility have generated ambiguity and steered institutions towards implementing their own role-specific functions. The purpose of this paper is to establish a functional framework that may be used to differentiate the principal duties of a mentor, coach, and advisor in the context of undergraduate medical education (UME). Four key components are necessary to achieve this goal: (1) adopting a singular definition for each form of guidance; (2) characterizing each role based on unique skills; (3) describing the interplay between learner needs and educator capabilities; (4) training educators on how to effectively distinguish each form of guidance. Creating clear distinctions between mentors, coaches, and advisors in medical education will bolster students’ academic experience and improve the educator-learner relationship. These definitions may also benefit faculty members by providing a clear framework for their responsibilities, which can be used for evaluations or determining future promotions.

A Review of Mentorship in Urology: Are We Satisfied?

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To evaluate the state of mentorship in the field of urology.

RECENT FINDINGS

Mentorship has been shown to decrease burnout, increase recruitment of underrepresented minority groups, and have a positive influence on the career trajectory of mentees. Approximately half of surgical residency programs have mentorship programs. The current literature supports the idea that formal mentorship programs are successful based on level 1 satisfaction scores. However, studies are sparse and of low quality. Mentorship program success is rarely objectively measured. Structured mentorship programs appear to be beneficial, but require serious planning, evaluation, and ongoing support without which the programs can fail. Future research should be focused on objective and measurable metrics of success.

Training the Trainers in Language Assessment via Mentoring: Building Expertise to Promote Language Assessment Literacy of Ukrainian University Teachers

This mixed-methods study described a case of group-based informal mentoring, a conceptual model of which was aligned with an effective mentoring program found in the literature. The research questions that were addressed in the study included: (1) Will mentoring training, conducted within a short (1-month) period, enable inexperienced presenters to develop and conduct an effective workshop in LTA? (2) In what way(s) has mentoring training impacted the mentees as prospective trainers in LTA? The training was implemented by one mentor and two mentees, with the immediate purpose to organize a platform to disseminate the results of an Erasmus+ staff mobility program. The data were collected via a questionnaire, a self-efficacy scale and reflection logs about the mentoring procedure, as well as the workshop in LTA conducted by the mentees with the purpose to enhance Ukrainian university teachers’ LAL. The outcome of the training reported a high success level of the workshop among 37 attendees. In addition, the participants of the mentoring training (n = 2) demonstrated improvement in their organizational skills and professional growth. The mentoring framework proved to be an effective strategy for implementing study objectives and can be recognized as a successful model for the promotion of language assessment literacy.

MERIT: a mentor reflection instrument for identifying the personal interpretative framework

BACKGROUND

Essential to the professional development of mentors is making explicit and critically challenging the knowledge and beliefs underpinning their mentoring practice. This paper reports on the development of a survey instrument called MERIT, MEntor Reflection InstrumenT, which was designed to support mentors' systematic reflection on the how, what and why of their practice.

METHODS

In 2019, a twenty-item survey instrument was developed and piloted. Initial validation data (N = 228) were collected by distributing the survey through the authors' network. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted and internal consistency reliability coefficients were calculated.

RESULTS

The Principal Axis EFA with Direct Oblimin rotation (Delta = 0) resulted in four factors: 1) supporting personal development, 2) modelling professional development, 3) fostering autonomy, and 4) monitoring performance. The four factors explained 43% of the total variance of item scores. The Cronbach's alphas for the subscale scores were between .42 and .75.

CONCLUSIONS

The MERIT can help mentors reflect on their beliefs and professional knowhow. These reflections can serve as input for the faculty development initiatives mentors undertake, which may ultimately improve their knowledge and skills as a mentor.