Surgery Mentorship for Medical Students: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Mentorship plays a valuable role in medical education by helping students navigate significant career decisions and cultivate enhanced professional networks. We sought to implement and evaluate a surgical mentorship program for medical students.

Materials and methods: Student members of the Surgery Interest Group and faculty surgeons were invited to participate in a mentorship program. Mentees were randomly paired with a mentor and instructed to schedule three meetings with their mentor and attend four structured group sessions. Pre-program and post-program surveys were administered and were standardized using a five-point Likert scale. Post-program interviews were conducted with willing participants.

Results: Forty three mentees and 21 mentors were enrolled. Thirty two mentees (74.4%) and nine mentors (42.9%) completed both pre-surveys and post-surveys. In pre-surveys, strong communication was rated as a top factor of importance by mentors and mentees (76.2% versus 95.3%, P = 0.03). In post-surveys, seven mentors (77.8%) and 20 mentees (62.5%) found communication with their mentee or mentor to be effective. Seven mentors (77.8%) and 17 mentees (53.1%) gained a connection with a mentee or mentor. Mentees critiqued mentor communication in comments (9, 28.2%) and interviews (2, 33.3%). Mentors critiqued student communication and initiative in comments (4, 44.4%) and interviews (2, 66.7%).

Conclusions: Our findings suggest a semi-structured mentorship program can provide meaningful network connections to medical students interested in pursuing surgery. However, it is critical to ensure adequate communication and sufficient commitment from mentees and mentors.

Keywords: Curriculum; Medical education; Mentorship; Students; Surgery.