Formal Mentoring Research Articles

Professional development of teachers: Perceptions and challenges of foundation phase teachers

Background: South Africa’s teacher retention crisis calls for policy makers, school leaders and teachers to explore ways for professional growth. This study examined six novice teachers’ experiences and views on continuous professional development (CPD) and how it benefits teachers as they transition from mentees to mentors.Aim: The study aimed to explore novice teachers’ engagement with CPD within the context of foundation phase (FP) teaching. It specifically investigated their understanding of CPD in communities of practice and how they preferred to be inducted, mentored and coached.Setting: This qualitative case study was conducted in six inner-city public primary schools in urban Johannesburg, South Africa.Methods: The research followed a case study design, using semi-structured interviews with six novice teachers to gather data.Results: The findings revealed the significance of informal mentorship, offering support despite the absence of formal structures in FP settings. This highlights the need for educational institutions to establish formal mentorship opportunities to promote professional development and well-being of teachers.Conclusion: CPD goes beyond fulfilling professional requirements – it empowers teachers. By upskilling and reskilling, CPD prepares teachers to meet modern teaching challenges.Contributions: This research adds to the limited literature on novice teachers’ experiences with CPD in FP. It highlights CPD’s crucial role in enhancing pedagogical strategies, supporting diverse learners, improving teacher wellness, and informing educational policy and leadership decisions.

Mentorship of New(er) School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists Beyond the Clinical Fellowship: A Pilot Study

Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the perspectives of school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) with varying levels of experience to identify the components of a postclinical fellow (CF) school-based speech-language pathology mentorship program, barriers to implementation, and potential solutions. Method: After seeking feedback from school-based SLPs, a survey was created and distributed via e-mail and national social media sites. Topics included gathering perspectives about experiences with school-based speech-language pathology mentorship, components of a possible post-CF mentorship program, barriers to implementation, and potential solutions. Results: Sixty-five school-based SLPs with varying years of experience responded to the survey. Results suggested that respondents felt a setting-specific post-CF school-based speech-language pathology mentorship program may be valuable. Time, compensation, and filling knowledge gaps were identified as both important components of a mentor program but also potential challenges to implementation. Conclusions: A post-CF school-based speech-language pathology mentorship program has the potential to be beneficial to both parties in tangible and intangible ways. SLPs appear to be interested in mentorship not only as a way to support future generations of SLPs but also for a sense of self-fulfillment and professional development. A formal mentorship program may operationalize support related to decision making, advocacy, paperwork, scheduling, and working through challenging cases.

Https://www.innovativehumancapital.com/article/the-modern-manager-navigating-a-complex-role-in-today-s-organizations

The role of the manager has become increasingly complex due to forces such as globalization, technology disruption, and changing worker expectations, requiring proficiency across strategic planning, leading others, communicating, developing talent, and other diverse hard and soft skills to navigate today's volatile business environment successfully. While leading organizations recognize high-quality managers as a strategic asset, attracting and developing top management talent presents ongoing challenges, as younger professionals are less interested in management careers due to workload demands, a skills gap exists between required competencies and what new or promoted managers possess, and traditional training methods often provide inadequate preparation, resulting in few managers being truly ready for senior roles. To address these issues, experts recommend a strategic, multifaceted approach including updating manager job profiles and career paths, establishing formal mentoring and coaching, deploying strategic stretch assignments, implementing blended leadership training programs, and utilizing 360-degree performance evaluations to gain competitive advantages in hiring, retention, and leadership development.

Give it your all or hardly give? The role of mentors' beliefs about protégé advancement potential and gender in mentoring relationships

Our research challenges assumptions about equity in formal mentoring programs. Drawing on mentoring schema and diversified mentoring theory, we theorized that mentors' beliefs about their protégés' advancement potential predict the career support they provide and the quality of their relationship, and that these effects vary by gender. Using matched-pair designs, we tested our model in two field studies of mentors and their protégés (total n = 355 dyads). Supporting theoretical predictions, mentors showed less interest in their protégés' careers, provided less career guidance, experienced less respect, and were less satisfied with their relationship when they believed their protégé had low advancement potential. Protégés also experienced less respect in their relationship when their mentor perceived them as lacking potential. Gender played a nuanced role. While mentors saw female and male protégés as having equivalent advancement potential, female protégés were seen as having less potential and experienced less respect when assigned a male rather than a female mentor. Additionally, male mentors felt more respected in their relationship when they believed their assigned protégé had high potential. Our findings challenge assumptions about the career support and respect provided in mentoring programs, offer insights about the nuanced effects of gender, and call for interventions that help organizations fulfill the promise of mentoring.

Novice clinician educator professional identity formation through a longitudinal mentorship: a qualitative study

BackgroundThe professional identity of doctors is evolving with physicians now required to be ‘scholars’, facilitating the education of students and healthcare teammates as educators. Mentoring is widely practiced and is postulated to facilitate professional identity formation (PIF) through socialization.Preliminary literature review suggested few studies looking into how formal mentoring programmes affect PIF of novice clinician educators, particularly an Asian context. I hope to understand the perceived professional identity of such educators, and what changes in professional identity are observed after longitudinal mentorship, using the social cognitive career theory (SCCT) as an underpinning framework.MethodsA qualitative study explored perspectives of mentees with less than two years teaching experience and participating in a formal mentoring programme. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the beginning and end of the programme. Thematic analysis and coding of these taped and transcribed interviews was performed and triangulated with an elite interview. Mind maps were constructed to appreciate the inter-relatedness of themes and evaluated using the SCCT framework. Methodology was anchored to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist.ResultsSeven mentees were recruited. All were Chinese except for two Indians. All had less than six months experience with educational activities. None had formal training in medical education. Median duration postgraduate was six years. One was from a surgical discipline, others were from a range of medical disciplines. Themes identified included background influences, learning experiences and outcome expectations which affected self-efficacy, leading to mentees attaining goals and performing actions which effected their professional identity development, which was in-turn affected by contextual influences. Most perceived themselves as clinicians rather than medical educators. Concepts underpinning PIF included socialisation (role modelling and mentorship, communities of practice, sense of belonging), experiential learning, the hidden curriculum and reflective practice.ConclusionsNovice clinician educators mostly have a hierarchical identity. Role modelling and mentorship, active participation in communities of practice, promotion of a sense-of-belonging, experiential learning combined with reflective practice are important components for socialisation, synergistically facilitating PIF in novice clinician educators. Overcoming contextual barriers, being cognisant of cultural practices and addressing concerns in the hidden curriculum can assist educators in development of their professional identity.

59 Enhancing career development in paediatrics residency: A needs assessment

Abstract Background Mentorship is a cornerstone of professional growth within medical training, yet the role of formal mentorship in career advising for medical residents remains understudied. In 2020, our Paediatrics Residency program introduced the role of faculty advisors as part of the Competence by Design framework, with a mission to guide academic growth, professional development, and excellence in patient care. However, it is unclear to what extent career advising is occurring in this advisor-advisee relationship. Objectives The primary aim of this study was to complete a needs assessment for Paediatric residents to inform faculty advisor roles and responsibilities and effectively support paediatric residents in their career development. This included examination of the current state, identification of the ideal state, followed by a gap analysis and recommendations to create a comprehensive advising program. Design/Methods This study utilized a mixed methods approach, using quantitative and qualitative survey methodologies. The survey questions (n=20) were designed from background literature and pilot testing. An anonymous survey was administered through the Qualtrics platform to the Paediatrics residents (n=59). The protocol was submitted for REB review and was granted an exemption as a quality improvement project. Thematic analysis of the qualitative content was completed by two investigators, utilizing the Braun & Clarke six-phase framework. Results The response rate for the survey reached 34% (n=20) with the final sample including 16% PGY1, 42% PGY2, 16% PGY3, and 26% PGY4 residents. Alarmingly, most residents (63%) did not have a well-defined plan for monitoring career goals. No residents claimed to have sufficient career mentorship at present (0%), with majority (84%) expressing their interest in regular career planning sessions. A significant proportion (79%) also underscored the importance of considering life context when setting career goals. Our thematic analysis revealed that career advising currently follows a non-formal, self-initiated process, with time constraints as the primary obstacle. Primary themes elicited emphasized career exploration (n=15), networking (n=7) including discussions around life context (n=6), mentorship (n=6), and advisor role clarity (n=6). Conclusion Our findings affirm a compelling need for enhanced career development within our Paediatrics Residency program. In response, we propose a multi-faceted approach advocating for structured formal career development. This entails scheduled information sessions, resident goal setting, and formal mentorship. We recommend creating opportunities for networking to enable personalized career development considerations. Exploring an adjunctive role to faculty advisors may be necessary to ensure the success of these recommendations in optimizing resident career education.

Assessing the Inner Setting among Massachusetts Community Health Centers: Opportunities for Multilevel Investigation and Expansion of Influences on Health Equity.

Background Implementation science increasingly aims to improve equity in delivery of evidence-based interventions. It is important to expand the conceptualization of the inner setting, organizations like community health centers where interventions are put into place, accordingly. Taking a comprehensive, partnered approach to measuring the inner setting among a network of community health centers engaged in implementation research ensures assessment of the variability among sites and generates centralized contextual data that can be applied across studies. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey among staff (n = 63) from 12 community health centers in Massachusetts engaged in research at the Implementation Science Center for Cancer Control Equity. The survey assessed inner setting constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, including learning climate, leadership engagement, available resources, and implementation demands/stress using validated measures. Additional equity-focused inner setting items included structural characteristics of the work infrastructure and language access services. Descriptive statistics examined differences by staff role and health center. Results Staff rated learning climate (mean = 3.98) and leadership engagement (mean = 3.67) positively, while available resources (mean = 2.78) had the lowest rating, particularly staffing resources. Clinical staff rated the inner context lowest compared to other roles. Most centers provided tuition assistance and all reported supportive human resources benefits for caregiving, while fewer offered formal mentorship or affinity groups. Most community health centers reported written materials are routinely provided to patients in languages other than English and interpreter services were most common in Spanish, Vietnamese, and Portuguese. Conclusions This study provides a baseline assessment of the inner setting within Massachusetts community health centers. Periodic follow-up surveys will monitor changes over time. Data can be used in future analyses to explore how inner setting characteristics influence implementation outcomes and impact equitable translation of evidence-based interventions into practice.

6855 Nationwide Analysis Of Mentorship In Endocrinology Fellowship

Abstract Disclosure: D. Toro-Tobon: None. H. Billings: None. I. Bancos: None. Background: Mentorship is crucial for training physicians' career development, yet evidence of its impact on endocrinology trainees is lacking. We assessed the current state of mentorship in endocrine fellowship training in the United States. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study between June and September 2023. Endocrine fellows were invited to complete an online questionnaire describing their mentorship experience and its influence on burnout, satisfaction, and scholarly productivity. Results: Of 153 participants (mean age 34, 69% women, 47% White, 20% Hispanic/Latino), 73% had a mentor. Having a mentor was not associated with age, gender identity, race, or ethnicity. Those without mentors were more commonly in two-year fellowships (63% vs. 81%, p=0.04), had less access to formal mentorship programs (48% vs. 21%, p<0.01), cited insufficient faculty availability for mentoring (11% vs. 26%, p=0.01), and encountered more challenges finding mentors in their training programs (11% vs. 38%, p<0.001). Mentored participants exhibited increased post-fellowship interest in academic practice (69% vs. 50%, p<0.01), higher involvement in clinical research (65% vs. 49%, p=0.01), more fellowship-dedicated scholarly time (36% vs. 22%, <0.001), a greater median number of publications (4.6 vs. 1.8, p<0.01) and abstracts (7 vs. 3.7, p<0.01), were more likely to have submitted a grant (29% vs. 5%, p=0.03) and had higher satisfaction with training (92% vs. 64%, p<0.001). Mentors were mostly chosen by mentees (70%) and shared gender identity (61%) but often had a different race or ethnicity (71.8%). The majority found mentorship relationships satisfactory (87%), contributing to increased academic productivity (84%) and reduced mentee burnout and stress levels (60%). In bivariate analysis, all mentor attributes significantly influenced higher academic productivity and mentee satisfaction. The most divergent for academic productivity were improved communication, alignment with expectations, inspiration for goal attainment, and effective networking. For mentorship satisfaction, distinctions were found in communication enhancement, goal-oriented assistance, knowledge/skill enrichment, and personalized career path development. Traits like active listening and adapting communication styles were not linked to decreased burnout, but actively supporting work-life balance independently correlated with reduced burnout. Conclusion: Mentorship positively affects endocrine fellows' scholarly productivity and career development. Yet, a significant number lack mentors or access to programs. Mentor attributes, like effective communication, goal alignment, and networking support boost productivity and satisfaction. However, reducing mentee burnout hinges on actively fostering work-life balance. Presentation: 6/3/2024

Introduction of an Online Mentoring Program for Final Professional MBBS Students

Background: Mentoring helps in the personal and professional development of mentees and helps them develop self-confidence in their work. Final-year undergraduate medical students face many challenges but they also have to gain the confidence to start working independently and plan their careers in the near future. In the coronavirus disease scenario, many of these challenges were amplified, and final-year students were in greater need of mentoring. Even though mentoring had been introduced under the new curriculum in 2019, formal online mentoring programs were nonexistent in most Indian medical colleges. Therefore, it was aimed to implement and evaluate an online mentoring program for final-year undergraduate medical students. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was conducted with 16 mentees allotted to the principal researcher. A needs assessment survey was conducted before finalizing the program. A mentoring module was designed, and subsequently, five rounds of individual mentoring sessions were conducted on “Google Meets.” Feedback was obtained from the mentees and analyzed. Results: Most mentees (93.8%) agreed that an online mentoring program should be introduced. The mentees were satisfied with the online mentoring program (5-point Likert Scale; median = 4) and felt that they had received motivation and gained confidence to overcome challenges. The majority of the respondents (80%) felt supported during mentoring, whereas 86.67% agreed that they were able to harness their positive attributes and started working toward their goals. Conclusions: The online mentorship program was successful in improving the confidence of the medical students in dealing with academic and nonacademic issues.

Orthopaedic surgery residents with a mentor report greater self-assessed theoretical and practical preparedness than residents without a mentor.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of mentorship on self-perceived theoretical and practical skill levels of German-speaking residents affiliated to a scientific society with a focus on sports medicine. It was hypothesized that orthopaedic surgery residents with a mentor would report higher subjective theoretical and practical skills and less apprehension towards performing surgeries unsupervised compared to those without mentors. A 35-item questionnaire was distributed among resident members of AGA-Society for Arthroscopy and Joint-Surgery. The survey explored the current status of mentoring and self-assessed theoretical and practical skill levels as well as apprehension towards performing surgeries unsupervised (1-10 scale with higher values indicating higher skill level or greater apprehension). In total, 115 residents were included, of which 46 (40.0%) had a mentor. The majority of residents without a mentor (65.7%) reported the desire to have a mentor. Residents with a mentor reported significantly higher self-assessed theoretical (p = 0.003) and practical skill levels (p < 0.001) and less apprehension towards performing surgeries unsupervised (p < 0.001) compared to residents without a mentor. The presence of formal mentorship programs increased the likelihood of having a mentor significantly (odds ratio [OR] 7.17, p < 0.001). Male and female participants did not differ significantly in self-assessed skill level or apprehension towards performing surgeries unsupervised. Residents with a mentor reported greater subjective skill levels and stated less apprehension towards performing surgeries unsupervised compared to residents without a mentor. The majority of residents without a mentor stated that they would like to have a mentor. This may be achieved by establishing more formal mentorship programs as they facilitate mentorship. Level IV, cross-sectional study.

Mentorship of Junior Surgical Faculty Across Academic Programs in Surgery

Because mentorship is critical for professional development and career advancement, it is essential to examine the status of mentorship and identify challenges that junior surgical faculty (assistant and associate professors) face obtaining effective mentorship. To evaluate the mentorship experience for junior surgical faculty and highlight areas for improvement. This qualitative study was an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study including an anonymous survey on mentorship followed by semistructured interviews to expand on survey findings. Junior surgical faculty from 18 US academic surgery programs were included in the anonymous survey and interviews. Survey responses between "formal" (assigned by the department) vs "informal" (sought out by the faculty) mentors and male vs female junior faculty were compared using χ2 tests. Interview responses were analyzed for themes until thematic saturation was achieved. Survey responses were collected from November 2022 to August 2023, and interviews conducted from July to December 2023. Mentorship from formal and/or informal mentors. Survey gauged the availability and satisfaction with formal and informal mentorship; interviews assessed broad themes regarding mentorship. Of 825 survey recipients, 333 (40.4%) responded; 155 (51.7%) were male and 134 (44.6%) female. Nearly all respondents (319 [95.8%]) agreed or strongly agreed that mentorship is important to their surgical career, especially for professional networking (309 respondents [92.8%]), career advancement (301 [90.4%]), and research (294 [88.3%]). However, only 58 respondents (18.3%) had a formal mentor. More female than male faculty had informal mentors (123 [91.8%] vs 123 [79.4%]; P = .003). Overall satisfaction was higher with informal mentorship than formal mentorship (221 [85.0%] vs 40 [69.0%]; P = .01). Most male and female faculty reported no preferences in gender or race and ethnicity for their mentors. When asked if they had good mentor options if they wanted to change mentors, 141 (47.8%) responded no. From the interviews (n = 20), 6 themes were identified, including absence of mentorship infrastructure, preferred mentor characteristics, and optimizing mentorship. Academic junior surgical faculty agree mentorship is vital to their careers. However, this study found that few had formal mentors and almost half need more satisfactory options if they want to change mentors. Academic surgical programs should adopt a framework for facilitating mentorship and optimize mentor-mentee relationships through alignment of mentor-mentee goals and needs.

How to Conduct Clinical Research in Cardiovascular Imaging: A Primer for Clinical Cardiologists and Researchers. A Statement of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) of the ESC.

This statement from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) of the ESC aims to address the fundamental principles that guide clinical research in the field of cardiovascular imaging. It provides clinical researchers, cardiology fellows, and Ph.D. students with a condensed, updated, and practical reference document to support them in designing, implementing, and conducting imaging protocols for clinical trials. Although the present article cannot replace formal research training and mentoring, it is recommended reading for any professional interested in becoming acquainted with or participating in clinical trials involving cardiovascular imaging.

The Fletcher-Cox Pathway: A Unique View on Clinical Trial Education

PurposeThere currently are no established formal mentorship and training program for radiation oncology (RO) trainees to learn trial design, creation, writing, or implementation. There only exists informal training on analyzing clinical trials in RO residency programs. The integration of a longitudinal formal training and mentorship program for clinical trialists - consisting of clinical trial education, design, mentorship, and implementation during the RO residency education will give residents not only formal teaching in the subject, but strong tools and requisite mentorship in hopes to help them succeed as future academic physicians and leaders in the field of radiation oncology. Methods and MaterialsWe developed a clinical trial training pathway in 2018 at XXX, proposing it as a pilot program. The “Fletcher-Cox Pathway” was accepted with a highly positive response by trainees. and is is now offered as a standard option to RO trainees at our institution. ResultsWith the guidance of their principal investigator (PI), residents participating in this pathway design and submit a clinical trial for institutional review board (IRB) review. In 2019, after implementation of the pilot program, 4 of the incoming 7 residents joined the pathway. The program continues, and the current cohort of trainees have received training in clinical trials design andworked with dedicated mentor(s) regarding clinical trial ideas; their studies are currently accruing patients. ConclusionsThis pilot program has been viewed by trainees and mentors as successful; it highlights how a structured approach meets a clear need within RO training. We envision the creation of a national platform to increase access, whereby programs adopt this clinical trialist educational pathway, which ultimately leads to the development of a robust clinical trial community with communal resources. We hope that this not only improves and provides educational initiatives to all trainees but also initiates further collaboration.

The Status of Canadian Radiology Mentorship Programs, Where We Stand and Where to Improve.

Background: The importance of mentorship in medicine is well-established. Access to mentors is pivotal in enhancing career opportunities and networking, increasing research productivity, and overall wellness and resilience at all career stages. Our study aims to assess the current status of radiology mentorship programs for Canadian medical students and radiology residents. Methods: We distributed an anonymous survey to Canadian radiology program directors in December 2022. The questions pertained to the existing mentorship programs' specific goals, structure, and success. Our null hypothesis was that medical students and residents have similar mentorship opportunities. Results: We have received 12 responses (a response rate of 12/16 = 75%), 9 of which had formal mentorship programs and 3 (25%) did not. Comparing the mentorship program for medical students and residents yielded a P-value = .11 > .05. This result does not reject our null hypothesis, indicating there is no significant difference between these 2 groups. Using qualitative analysis, we categorized the responses into 4 main themes: mentorship programs' goals, structures, evaluation methods, and their results. Conclusion: Although our result did not reach statistical significance (P-value = .11 > .05), the observed trend shows that one third of Canadian medical schools do not offer a radiology mentorship program for medical students, highlighting a potentially significant opportunity for improvement. Qualitative analysis shows that despite various methods for assigning mentees to mentors, developing formalized yet flexible mentorship models that allow students and residents to self-select their mentors might be more beneficial than randomly assigning mentors to them.

Assessment of the Relevance of Mentoring Roles in Nasarawa State University, Keffi

This paper assessed the relevance of mentoring roles in Nasarawa State University, Keffi. The major objectives of this paper were to assess the effects of mentoring roles in achieving the mandates of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, as well as the extent to which mentoring roles affected employees’ capacity in Nasarawa State University, Keffi. The survey method was employed with primary and secondary sources of data used. A sample size of 400 was used. After analyzing the collected data, it was revealed that mentoring at Nasarawa State University, Keffi was very relevant and had a positive effect on learning, staff relationships, innovation, and creativity. It was also found that mentoring was very relevant and had a positive effect on staff capacity development, career satisfaction, the discovery of new talents, self-confidence, motivation, and understanding of NSUK’s goals and objectives. Based on the findings, the paper recommended that there is a need to strengthen and expand mentoring programmes at Nasarawa State University, Keffi. This could be done by investing in resources and training for mentors, promoting a mentoring culture, and increasing awareness among staff and students about the benefits of mentoring. Also, NSUK should, as a matter of concern, implement a formal mentoring programme to provide opportunities for mentorship relationships to be established between experienced staff members and those seeking growth and development.

Implementation of Knowledge Management at PT Multi Phi Beta to Prevent Knowledge Loss

PT Multi Phi Beta, as an engineering consultancy, faces challenges in a competitive industry that demands operational efficiency. The company encounters high employee turnover due to the short-term nature of its projects, leading to a significant risk of knowledge loss. This research aims to evaluate the current state of knowledge management readiness at PT Multi Phi Beta, identify gaps in knowledge management implementation, and propose improvements to mitigate these knowledge loss risks and enhance overall efficiency. The primary method used to obtain data is quantitative, collected through questionnaires. To enrich the primary data, qualitative data is gathered through semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that PT Multi Phi Beta is at the initiation level of KM readiness, recognizing the need for knowledge management but not yet fully integrating KM practices. To mitigate knowledge loss, the company should capture critical knowledge from transitioning employees, enhance its KM vision and mission, and establish a dedicated KM department. Standardized processes for managing knowledge, conducting after-action reviews, knowledge cafés, and formal mentoring programs are essential. Additionally, providing integrated knowledge repositories and implementing a rewards and recognition program will encourage knowledge sharing and strengthen the company’s KM efforts.

Standing in the gap: how Black women mentors make the academy bearable for other Black women

Black women in higher education routinely face and combat intersecting structural inequities to accomplish their goals in their roles as students, staff, administrators, and faculty members. Black women have also consistently found ways to create pathways to support one another in navigating multiple structural inequities in academia to achieve success. In this study, we used duoethnographic methods to explore our lived experiences of formal mentorship by Black women scholars who made the academy bearable for us. Our findings highlight, honor, and demonstrate the ways Black women stood in the gap for us as Black women in our roles as staff, doctoral students, adjunct faculty, and tenure-track faculty members in predominately white institutions. The findings illustrate the collective ways Black women scholars thrive despite the inequitable institutional culture and climate in which they work.

Patched but Still Leaky: An Update on the Pipeline for Women in Gastroenterology.

Women remain underrepresented in gastroenterology (GI). Studies have identified that a lack of formal mentorship for women contributes to this underrepresentation. While many GI divisions have adopted models for supporting GI fellows and faculty, there is a gap in our knowledge regarding mentorship options for internal medicine (IM) residents interested in GI. To evaluate representation of women at each level of their career (resident, fellow, and attending) and examine trends in representation of women in GI compared to other IM subspecialties. We analyzed AAMC Physician Specialty Data Reports to compare gender representation and growth of women representation across all IM subspecialties and residencies from 2007 to 2021. In 2021, 44.3% of IM residents, 37.8% of GI fellows, and 19.7% of actively practicing attending gastroenterologists were women. Since 2007, GI comprised significantly lower proportions of women attendings except for cardiology, and lower representation in fellows, except for cardiology and nephrology, than other IM subspecialties (p < 0.001). There was a consistently higher proportion of women GI fellows than attendings over the past 14years (p < 0.01). GI has among the lowest representation of women at each career level compared to other IM subspecialties. Given the previously reported preference of gender congruent mentoring, the underrepresentation of senior academic gastroenterologists who are women may be a contributing factor to lower proportions of women trainees choosing to pursue GI.

The Effect of Formal Mentoring on Newcomers’ Pro-organization Proactive Behavior

The Effect of Formal Mentoring on Newcomers’ Pro-organization Proactive Behavior

Critical care nurses' competence in mentoring students in intensive care units—A cross-sectional study

BackgroundMentors play an important role in the practical education of critical care nursing students in intensive care units, yet little is known about the mentoring competencies of critical care nurses. AimThe aim of this study was to assess Norwegian critical care nurses' competence in mentoring students in intensive care units. DesignThis study has a descriptive, cross-sectional design, utilising a self-administered online survey. SettingsThe study population consisted of critical care nurses who mentor students in Norwegian intensive care units. Participants178 critical care nurses participated in the study. The participants were recruited by contacting the units directly, through social media, and at a national critical care nursing conference. MethodsThe study utilised the Mentors' Competence Instrument, a self-evaluation tool for evaluating mentoring competence. ResultsThe Norwegian critical care nurses generally evaluated their mentoring competence as middle to high level. The “reflection during mentoring” dimension was rated as the highest and “student-centered evaluation” as the lowest competence dimension. The critical care nurses who had formal mentoring education reported significantly higher mentoring competences, but the other demographic characteristics were not related to mentoring competence. Regardless of previous mentoring education, most participants reported a need to further develop their mentoring competencies. ConclusionsEmployers should collaborate with educational institutions to establish a system for continuous competence development for critical care nurse mentors.