Big Sister Big Brother Pilot Program: A Novel Resident Mentorship Project

Abstract

Introduction: Transition from medical school into residency is difficult, particularly for foreignmedical graduates (FMGs). Early career mentoring is known to be beneficial. Although mentorshipis encouraged, formal programs are seldom in place and are often ineffective. Objective: To studythe impact of resident driven mentorship program (Big Sister Big Brother Program) in improvingmedicine residency experience of new interns. Methods: The study was conducted in the InternalMedicine Residency Program in University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre between September2012 and October 2013. Residents were assigned with incoming interns on 1:1 basis to act astheir mentors. Residents were to meet with the interns every month and address their concerns inan informal atmosphere. We developed a 17-item questionnaire to assess participants’ perceptions,satisfaction and experience with mentorship. Results: Overall 61% respondents were males and 43%were Caucasian. Majority (61%) were categorical internal medicine and 45% were FMGs. Only 57%interns reported satisfaction with mentorship and 60.5% said the transition was easy with respectto personal life. After introduction of mentorship program, interns reported improvement in ease oftransition with respect to personal life (OR 4.5, CI 1.1–18.4), which was more pronounced in FMGs(OR 10.5, CI 1.1–98.9). Intern class also reported improvement in ease of approaching mentor (OR4.5, CI 1.1–18.1). Conclusion: In traditional faculty driven mentorship, accessibility to faculty is thebiggest hindrance. Our study showed resident mentors have a positive impact on quality of life, ease ofapproaching mentors, and improve comfort level of new interns. This is especially beneficial for FMGswho have to adapt to new culture, and workplace. We have formally incorporated this program into ourorientation curriculum.