Effectiveness of mentoring education on health care professionals´ mentoring competence: A systematic review

Abstract

Background: Different types of educational approaches are needed to build a mentor's competence in guiding students during clinical practice; this education should be provided in an interprofessional setting.

Objectives: The objective of this review was to evaluate how effective mentoring education interventions are at improving mentoring competence among health care professionals.

Design: A systematic review.

Data sources: A systematic search was conducted across five electronic databases: CINAHL, PubMed, ProQuest, Scopus, and Medic. The search did not have any time limitations and included original studies published in English, Finnish or Swedish.

Review methods: JBI critical appraisal tools for quasi-experimental studies and randomized controlled trials were used to assess the quality of the selected studies. The eligibility of potentially relevant studies was assessed by two independent researchers based on title, abstract, and full text, along with overall methodological quality. The study findings were synthesized using data tabulation and narrative analysis.

Results: A total of two randomized controlled trials and six quasi-experimental studies were included in the review. The described mentoring education interventions were carried out in university hospitals, central hospitals, tertiary care centers, and other health service settings. All of the described educational interventions involved the pedagogical method of blended learning, while three studies also involved web-based learning. The presented educational interventions included versatile pedagogical frameworks, e.g., interactive practical training sessions, teaching workshops, and technology-mediated interactions. One study contained a control group.

Conclusion: This systematic review can provide insight and evidence-based that can be used to design effective mentoring education. Further research is needed and would ideally include randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies with reference groups; this type of research could further elucidate which aspects of mentoring education are most important for improving the guidance skills of health care professionals.

Keywords: Attitude; Competence; Education; Health care; Knowledge; Mentor; Skills.