MedEdPORTAL (Jul 2014)
Medical Student Mentoring Guide
Abstract
Abstract Introduction Effective mentoring is a key element for student success in medical school and increases the likelihood of eventual career satisfaction. In the context of medical education, effective mentoring has been found to help with professional identity formation, development of professionalism, research participation and productivity, career planning, and support of overall student well-being and appears to be especially valuable for individuals who are underrepresented in medicine. Yet few medical school faculty have received formal training in this area. Methods This resource is intended for use by faculty who mentor medical students. It provides a set of tools to guide mentors and a framework for approaching mentor-mentee interactions. The primary tool is a mentoring grid structured around common mentoring domains. The grid is further organized by medical student stage of training and suggests sample discussion topics for each stage and mentoring domain. Additional tools include a series of mentoring prompts designed to stimulate discussion and guide conversations, as well as a PowerPoint presentation that provides an overview of and introduction to the value and role of mentors in medical education. Results Dr. Prunuske has been using this resource for mentoring meetings since fall 2013. The resource has been most effective as a review prior to concluding the mentoring meeting and has helped ensure that potentially relevant issues are not inadvertently excluded from mentoring conversation. Since using the resource, Dr. Prunuske's mentoring meetings have been more expansive than in the past, and he feels more confident he is not excluding important issues for mentees. Discussion We presented this resource at the 2014 Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Medical Student Education Conference where it was well received by attendees. Several participants in a breakout session commented on the usefulness of the resource for organizing mentoring sessions, its relevance for their roles, and the value of the conceptual framework, and indicated a desire to implement the resource in their own institutions.
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