Mentor Characteristics Research Articles

Exploring Primary Healthcare Students and Their Mentors' Awareness of Mentorship and Clinical Governance as Part of a Local Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program: Findings of a Quantitative Survey.

Introduction: Previous research exploring the benefits of mentoring and the place of clinical governance in enhancing care delivery illustrated an unexplored synonymous relationship between mentors and mentees (students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels) and its potential impact on patient safety and quality of care. The significance of the research was in recognizing the importance the role of the mentor can play in raising awareness of patient safety and clinical governance principles and processes in the primary healthcare setting. Aims: Building on this preliminary research, this research aimed to explore primary healthcare workers and their mentor’s awareness of mentorship and clinical governance as part of a local Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. Furthermore, it aimed to establish any relationship between the mentors, the mentee, and their awareness and application of clinical governance in the primary healthcare setting. Methodology: A quantitative research design using a survey was adopted. Data Collection Instrument: The researchers integrated previously validated questionnaires incorporating a Mentor Potential Scale, the Dimensions of Mentoring, and a Clinical Governance Awareness Questionnaire into a new questionnaire. This was called “Mentorship and Clinical Governance Awareness”. Sample: Convenience sample surveys were posted to complete and return to 480 primary healthcare workers undertaking post graduate study. Findings: A total of 112 completed questionnaires were included for the analysis amounting to a 23% response rate. A principle component factor analysis combining part 1— the characteristics of an effective mentor and part 2—the personality characteristics of an effective mentor identified four primary characteristics. These are: (1) “A Facilitatory Adviser”, (2) “Critically Enabling Facilitator”, (3) “A Change Facilitator”, and 4) “An Approachable Facilitator”. These newly identified characterizations according to the primary healthcare workers significantly impacted on their awareness and application of clinical governance in primary healthcare practice. Implications for primary healthcare practice and education: The newly devised questionnaire can be used to gauge the effectiveness of mentors and mentoring and how the characteristics of the role can impact on mentee’s awareness and application of clinical governance. Healthcare manager’s, leaders, and educators should focus their attention on how these newly established characteristics of the mentor can influence clinical governance awareness and application in healthcare the future.

Importance of and Satisfaction With Characteristics of Mentoring Among Nursing Faculty.

Mentoring programs have the potential to influence the nursing faculty shortage by increasing job satisfaction while providing novice faculty with support during the transition from clinical practice to nursing faculty. This study aimed to determine nursing faculty perceptions of the importance of mentor characteristics and a mentoring relationship, and the level of satisfaction with mentoring within the nursing education profession. A cross-sectional design offered an online survey that was completed by 61 nursing faculty teaching in baccalaureate programs or higher in a midwestern state. The results did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship among survey items; however, mentoring characteristics that demonstrated both high importance and high satisfaction were trust and support. Deeper insight into the characteristics of mentoring that are of importance and produce satisfaction is essential to the development of formal mentoring programs to make a positive, lasting effect on the nursing education profession. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(10):595-598.].

Stability and Predictors of Students’ Treatment Acceptability of Check & Connect Across Time

Student views of treatment acceptability of an intervention is important but still is neither regularly assessed nor studied beyond non-behavioral interventions. Furthermore, assessment of treatment acceptability across time is almost never considered. Using data from a longitudinal, randomized controlled trial, we examined variables that predicted students’ treatment acceptability of Check & Connect, a mentoring intervention with promise for promoting school engagement. A series of multiple regressions with multiple imputations revealed that students’ treatment acceptability ratings in Year 1 significantly predicted Year 2 ratings. Other variables examined, including dosage, change in mentor, and student and mentor characteristics, were not significant in predicting students’ treatment acceptability ratings in Year 2. Implications for using treatment acceptability to facilitate buy-in and further replications are discussed.

Mentoring Characteristics and Functions Important to Men and Women within Intercollegiate Athletic Administration

Female athletic administrators were asked about the role of mentoring in their careers as women while male athletic administrators were asked about the role of mentoring in their careers as men working in intercollegiate athletic administration. The researchers gathered and compared information on mentor characteristics as well as career and psychosocial benefits of having a mentor. Participants were 518 female and 778 male athletic administrators working at NCAA Division I, II, and IIII, NAIA, NCCAA, and NJCAA schools. A three-step content-analytic procedure was used to analyze the qualitative data.
 Men identified being trustworthy, supportive, respected, and a good listener while women identified being supportive, hardworking, and knowledgeable as the most important mentor characteristics. Men most frequently named coaching and challenging assignments as career benefits from mentors while women named exposure/visability and coaching. Both men and women most frequently identified counseling and role modeling as psychosocial benefits from mentors.

Investigating Characteristics of Quality Peer Mentors With Spinal Cord Injury

ObjectiveTo identify characteristics (1) of high- and low-quality spinal cord injury (SCI) peer mentors; (2) that should be used to match SCI peer mentors and mentees. DesignThe study was conducted in partnership with three Canadian provincial SCI organizations using an integrated knowledge translation approach. The Delphi exercise was completed in three rounds. In Round 1, people with SCI completed a thought-listing exercise to identify characteristics of high- and low-quality peer mentors and for matching. In Rounds 2 and 3, people with SCI and community organization staff rated characteristics from the previous round on an 11-point scale. After the final round, the remaining characteristics were thematically analyzed. SettingCommunity-based peer mentorship programs in three Canadian provinces. ParticipantsPeople with SCI and SCI community organization staff (Round 1, n=45; Round 2, n=27; Round 3, n=25). InterventionsNot applicable. Main Outcome MeasuresConsensus-based list of characteristics. ResultsParticipants reached consensus on 215 characteristics of quality peer mentors and 11 characteristics for peer mentor-mentee matching (ICC=0.96). A consensus-based characterization of high- and low-quality peer mentorship was created and included six overarching themes: competencies, personality characteristics, emotional state, mentor outlook, reason for mentoring, and role model. ConclusionA consensus-based characterization of quality peer mentorship was co-developed with input from over 50 members of the SCI community. Findings highlight that peers have both interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics that contribute to quality mentorship. The findings highlighted the importance of matching mentors on lived experience and shared interests. Findings will inform future research and SCI peer mentorship programs.

The role of academic mentors for Latino/a adolescents exposed to community violence.

We examined the protective role of academic mentors for Latino/a youth exposed to community violence. We tested whether the mentor facilitation of positive growth and mentor school involvement moderated the relations between exposure to violence and Latino/a youth's educational values, school effort, and academic efficacy. We used hierarchical linear regressions to examine these relations among 210 Latino/a high school students. Witnessing violence and personal victimization was negatively related to all three educational outcomes. Mentor school involvement was positively related to all three educational outcomes, whereas mentor facilitation of growth was positively related to educational values only. A significant interaction between witnessing violence and mentor school involvement indicated that the negative relation between witnessing violence and educational values weakened at high levels of mentor school involvement. We discuss the benefits of academic mentoring and exploring effective mentoring characteristics with Latino/a youth exposed to violence.

Perceived Benefits of a Peer Mentoring Program for First-Year Medical Students

Problem: Peer mentoring has long been accepted as beneficial in a multitude of fields, but there has been limited description or study of the way these types of relationships may benefit medical students. Peer mentoring may be helpful for 1st-year medical students; however, little evidence is thus far available on which aspects of peer mentoring provide benefit and what those specific benefits are. Intervention: This study examines the perceived benefits and satisfaction derived by 1st-year medical students from participation in a semi-structured, informal cross-year peer mentoring program. It further attempts to characterize the aspects of peer mentoring relationships that are seen as beneficial to 1st-year students. Data were collected on demographic information, frequency and type of contact with mentor, perception of mentor characteristics, perceived benefits derived from the relationship, and their overall satisfaction with the relationship. Context: First-year medical students at a large academic institution were surveyed on their experience in an informal peer-mentoring program with 2nd-year students serving as mentors. Mentors had minimal training. No mandatory agenda or limitations were placed on the type or subject matter of interactions. Outcome: Mean overall satisfaction with the peer mentoring program was 7.47 (SD = 2.45) on a rating scale where 10 is the most satisfied. Students reported that their peer mentors generally exhibited beneficial attributes and behaviors. Ratings of perceived benefits were somewhat more variable and generally lower. Predictors of four outcomes—overall satisfaction, perceived academic benefit, perceived nonacademic benefit, and perceived clinical benefit—were explored using stepwise linear regression with forward entry and backward elimination to retain the most parsimonious model. Expertise in areas of mentee need was a consistent predictor of all outcomes. Regular involvement with a mentor was a consistent predictor of perceived academic and nonacademic benefit. Demographic characteristics were generally not predictive of outcomes. Lessons Learned: Peer mentoring is perceived by 1st-year medical students to provide psychosocial and academic benefits that appear to be independent of and complementary to those derived from faculty mentoring. These benefits can be established with minimal expenditure of institutional resources. Peer mentoring efficacy may be increased by more deliberate matching methods and by training mentors in provision of guidance and feedback, though further study is needed.

Youth Risk and Mentoring Relationship Quality: The Moderating Effect of Program Experiences.

Because program experiences are more amendable than mentor or mentee characteristics, they may be important factors to consider in buffering the negative impact of youth risk on the quality of the mentor-mentee bond. Data from 455 mentees (ages 11-18; 57% male) and their undergraduate student mentors (82.3% female) from the Campus Connections mentoring program were used to assess whether youth risk and mentors' program experiences (i.e., program structure, supportive relationships with staff, opportunities for skill building, support for efficacy and mattering, and opportunities to belong) were associated with mentoring relationship quality and whether mentors' experience within the program moderated the association between youth risk and mentoring relationship quality. Results indicated that environmental, but not individual, risk was negatively associated with relationship quality. Mentors' experiences with the program were positively associated with mentoring relationship quality, and in many cases, above and beyond youth level of risk. Finally, mentors' perception of program structure, supportive relationships, and opportunities for skill building attenuated the negative relationship between environmental, but not individual, risk and relationship quality. Mentors' experiences of program support for efficacy and mattering and opportunities to belong were not significant moderators in any model. Implications for programs and future research directions are presented.

Determining effective mentor characteristics in inter-organizational mentoring for managers: an approach based on academics’ and practitioners’ perspectives

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the essential mentor characteristics for effective inter-organizational mentoring. This kind of HR development technique, where mentor and mentee belong to different organizations, is becoming increasingly popular and so far has been scarcely studied.Design/methodology/approachFirst, a rigorous literature analysis to identify primary mentor characteristics for managers and professionals has been performed; second, a Delphi analysis has determined their relevance according to the opinion of 125 experienced mentors, mentees and program coordinators that have carried out inter-organizational mentoring processes in Spain; and third, an exploratory factor analysis has reclassified the mentor characteristics into a smaller number of factors.FindingsIn total, 29 relevant mentor characteristics have been identified and valued. The foregoing characteristics are related to seven underlying dimensions or factors that serve to characterize an effective mentor for inter-organizational mentoring programs.Originality/valueThe research extends the existing literature regarding mentor characteristics of those mentors who are engaged in inter-organizational mentoring. In addition, this work offers a valuable contribution to inter-organizational mentoring research based in a Delphi method that includes both academic and practitioner perspectives in a cultural context that may have not received previous attention. The findings can be valuable for both academics who investigate this topic of growing interest, and for practitioners who must face the selection and training of mentors.

The Relationship between Mentor Teachers' Mentoring Characteristics and Mentee Teachers' Reflective Practice in Collaborative Mentoring for Beginning Science Teachers

The Relationship between Mentor Teachers' Mentoring Characteristics and Mentee Teachers' Reflective Practice in Collaborative Mentoring for Beginning Science Teachers

Is Trustworthiness Important in a Doctoral Mentor? Toward a Theory of Tough Love Mentoring

Aim/Purpose: Doctoral education faces a serious problem: many students across the country begin the degree, but never graduate. However, effective mentoring can help students attain graduation, signaling their successful transformation to scholar. We believe the power of the mentor to bring about the transformation from student to scholar has to do with the quality of the relationship between mentor and protégé. In particular, we believe this relationship is most effective if it is characterized by the mentor’s tough love. Our purpose in this study was to interview mentors who are considered effective, to learn their thoughts on the importance of trust relationships, and to learn their ways in nurturing these relationships. Background: A mentor is a senior, more experienced person who guides a junior, less experienced person (in this context, a doctoral student). The role of the mentor is to provide guidance, modeling, technical support, personal support, and psychosocial support. In this paper, we sought to put forth a theory to explain the kinds of behaviors and attitudes that would characterize an effective mentor. The theory, called tough love theory, is a merger between parenting theory and trust theory. According to tough love theory, mentors who are benevolent, competent, honest, reliable, and demanding will bring about optimal growth of students. Methodology: We conducted semi-structured interviews of 21 effective mentors of doctoral students representing seven universities across the United States. We conducted conventional and summative content analysis of the qualitative data. Contribution: This study contributes new insights to guide a doctoral mentor on ways to develop a relationship with a protégé that will provide a catalyst for growth. Findings: The findings were consistent with tough love theory. Moreover, an emergent theme of the research was the dynamic nature of the mentor–protégé relationship, whereby the dependent student transforms into an autonomous, independent scholar. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that doctoral mentors become tough love mentors, i.e., mentors who are trustworthy and who possess high standards. Recommendation for Researchers: These findings have implications for the development of mentor relations theory. Specifically, we identified the following characteristics that effective mentors believed to be necessary for protégé success: trustworthiness and high standards. Impact on Society: We believe the characteristics of effective mentors may generalize to doctoral study in other disciplines, such as the sciences and the arts. We also believe the characteristics of effective mentors may generalize to other contexts, such as business. Future Research: We encourage future researchers to test the tough love mentoring theory with quantitative data.

Expected professional and personal characteristics of clinical mentors: Differences between physiotherapy and social gerontology students

Background: Clinical mentors play an important role in the development of knowledge and the acquisition of competencies of different health professionals. The success of the entire mentoring process also depends on the professional and personal characteristics of the clinical mentor. The purpose of this study was to identify which professional and personal characteristics of clinical mentors are relevant to physiotherapy (PHT) and social gerontology (SG) students.
 Methods: The web survey was performed between January 20 and May 15, 2018, using the adapted version of the nursing clinical teacher effectiveness inventory. The final sample consisted of 100 PHT and SG students from one of the Slovenian Universities.
 Results: The competencies “explains clearly” (p ˂ 0.001) and “takes responsibility of own actions” (p = 0.023) were statistically significantly more relevant to PHT students than to the SG students. The competencies “explains clearly” (p ˂ 0.001), “demonstrates clinical skill and judgment” (p = 0.033), “takes responsibility of own actions” (p = 0.023), and “is self-critical” (p = 0.023), were statistically significantly more relevant to PHT than to the SG students, while the statements “discusses current development in his/her field” (p = 0.002), “communicates expectations of students” (p = 0.029), “demonstrates empathy” (p = 0.037), “demonstrates enthusiasm” (p = 0.005), and “has a good sense of humor” (p = 0.005) were statistically significantly more relevant to SG students.
 Conclusion: The contrast in responses reflects the differences in the nature of both professions: The predominantly instrumental nature of PHT and the predominantly expressive nature of SG.

Talking to the mentees: exploring mentee dispositions prior to the mentoring relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how postsecondary mentoring programs address mentee dispositions prior to the mentee entering the reciprocal relationship, particularly which mentee dispositions are valued across mentoring program types, including peer, community-to-student, faculty-to-student and faculty-to-faculty programs.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed quantitative content analysis to examine 280 institutional US postsecondary mentoring websites across four different institution types (public, four-year; private, four-year, non-profit; private, four-year, for-profit; public, two-year) and four different mentoring program types (peer or student-to-student, community-to-student, faculty-to-student and faculty-to-faculty programs). Grounded coding strategies were employed to generate these four mentoring program types, supported by extant research (Crispet al., 2017).FindingsOf 280 mentoring programs, 18.6 percent articulated mentee dispositions prior to entering the reciprocal relationship. When mentoring programs did address mentees, most programs articulated mentor duties aligned with mentee expectations (47.5 percent of programs) and program outcomes for mentees (65.7 percent of programs) rather than what the mentee can and should bring into a reciprocal relationship.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is delimited by its sample size and its focus on institutional website content. Future studies should explore how mentoring programs recruit and retain mentees, as well as how website communications address the predispositions and fit of mentees within different types of mentoring programs.Practical implicationsThis study provided evidence that many postsecondary mentoring programs in the USA may not be articulating programmatic expectations of mentees prior to the mentoring relationship. By failing to address mentee predispositions, mentoring programs may not be accurately assessing their mentor’s compatibility with their mentees, potentially leading to unproductive mentoring relationships.Originality/valueThis study affirms extant research (Black and Taylor, 2017) while connecting mentor- and coaching-focused literature to the discussion of a mentee dispositions scale or measurement akin to Crisp’s (2009) College Student Mentoring Scale and Searby’s (2014) mentoring mindset framework. This study also forwards an exploratory model of mentoring program inputs and outputs, envisioning both mentor and mentee characteristics as fundamental inputs for a mentoring program rather than traditional models that view mentors as inputs and mentee achievements as outputs (Crisp, 2009; Searby, 2014).

Nobody’s talking to the mentees

ABSTRACTAlthough researchers support the notion that college- and university-sponsored mentoring programs effectively academically transition and retain postsecondary students from a variety of sociocultural backgrounds, researchers have not examined how mentoring programs address the ‘mentorability’ or the ‘ability to be mentored’ of their mentees. Employing a quantitative content analysis, we examined postsecondary mentoring program websites (n= 187) at public, four-year institutions in Texas (n = 44). Findings suggest only 19% of all mentoring programs address ‘mentorability’ by defining mentee characteristics and expectations, compared to 37% of all mentoring programs which define mentor characteristics and expectations. Furthermore, only 4% of mentoring program websites included mentee applications, and mentoring programs were four times more likely to address their mentors (1,023 occurrences) than ‘mentees/protégés’ (237 occurrences), speaking to the lack of focus on mentee ‘mentorability.’ Implications for practitioners and future research is addressed.

Defining Mentorship in Prehospital Care: A Qualitative Analysis of the Characteristics of Prehospital Mentors

<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p><p><span>This study sought to begin to define the current understanding of the term mentor within the prehospital environment (emergency medical services or EMS) as described by nomination letters written by mentees for a newly launched prehospital mentor award.</span><br /><br /><strong>Methods</strong></p><p><span>The John Ross Paramedic Mentor Award was created in the fall of 2015 to recognize outstanding mentors in prehospital care. In the spring of 2016, nineteen nomination letters were received from registered prehospital professionals in Alberta detailing why their mentor should receive the mentor award. Written text from the nominations for this peer nominated award were analyzed using thematic and content analysis (n=19) to identify the current understanding of mentorship in EMS, desirable qualities of prehospital mentors, and what a successful mentoring relationship looks like in the prehospital environment from the perspective of mentees. Demographic data of the mentees and mentors were obtained. </span><br /><br /><strong>Results</strong></p><p><span>Mentees and nominated mentors had varying years of experience, worked in diverse practice areas within prehospital care and represented varying scopes of practice (PCPs and ACPs). Three themes were identified from thematic analysis of the nomination letters 1) nominators seek to emulate their mentors, 2) mentors create a safe and nurturing environment, and 3) mentors act as advocates. In addition, content analysis was used to identify a number of desirable professional and personal traits of prehospital mentors.</span><br /><br /><strong>Conclusion</strong></p><p><span>This study describes the qualities of prehospital mentors and identifies a number of common elements in a successful mentoring relationship (from the perspective of the mentee). These results highlight exceptional mentoring that is already occurring within the prehospital care environment. This research has the potential to provide guidance to those who aim to support both formal and informal mentoring within the prehospital care environment.</span></p>

Mentorship programs in the manufacturing industry

PurposeThis paper aims to present a literature review of studies of mentorship programs in the manufacturing industry so as to lay a theoretical basis for learning at work.Design/methodology/approachA literature review with focus on mentorship programs in the manufacturing industry was used. A search for relevant peer-reviewed articles, in four databases, rendered 315 hits, but only one article dealt with mentorship programs in an industry similar to the manufacturing industry. Thus, it is concluded that there is a lack of research on this area. The selection criteria were broadened so as to include 16 articles on mentorship programs for learning at work.FindingsThree dominant areas emerged from this review: definitions of mentorship, characteristics of a good mentor and mentorship program structures. The establishment of a mentorship program requires a clear purpose; contextual knowledge; and adaption to the profession, the organization and to individual needs. In addition to their findings, the authors discuss relationships in mentoring programs, what can be understood by “reading between the lines” and the ongoing digitalization of mentorship programs.Originality/valueMentorship has proven itself to be a superior way to learn on the job. This paper provides practical information about establishing mentorship programs in the manufacturing industry, with a particular focus on the moulding industry.

Readers of English Literature Confronting Quiet Members with Critical Literacy in the Act of Mentoring

In response to many years of a one-way teacher-oriented teaching approach in Iran, there have been some attempts in research to identify young learners as resourceful learning material themselves. Over a period of two semesters, the researchers as teacher-researcher and co-teacher full-time participant observer explore the diverse ways for inviting thirty English Literature majors to voice their own spontaneous learning challenges in reading English literature through mentorship; and characteristics of a popular mentor in critical reading practice and the ways in which a mentor may share her voice with mentees. For this purpose, a qualitative case-study methodology is conducted at Alzahra University (the only-woman university in Iran) for an in-depth understanding of the language and act of reading when Iranian women English literature readers participate in a mentorship interaction. The findings indicated that the mentors/mentees and the teacher create a subtle relationship throughout the semesters by sharing how to read and search for literary texts; how to review literary texts after hearing one another’s writing styles; how to voice their critiques with courage; how to overcome competition; and how to invite quiet members to their circles.

Mentors of preservice teachers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to discuss how different styles of mentoring in teacher education relate to mentor characteristics. Pre-service teachers often want practical advice. However, in Norway, school mentors have traditionally been encouraged to promote reflection rather than offering advice. This study seeks to explore the relationship between mentors’ support for reflection based and clear mentoring (a relatively direct approach to mentoring) and mentors’ self-efficacy and effort.Design/methodology/approachUsing structural equation modelling of cross-sectional survey data (from 272 school mentors), the researchers in this study tested empirical interrelations between reflection-based mentoring, clear mentoring, mentor efficacy and effort. Clear mentoring was a reasonably consistent construct, while refection-based mentoring was a more elusive concept.FindingsEffort was associated with support for reflection, while self-efficacy was moderately related to clear mentoring and reflection-based mentoring. The results illustrate that reflection-based methods are demanding for mentors. If direct approaches are more effective, additional evidence would be required to support mentor training that heavily emphasises reflection.Research limitations/implicationsLongitudinal and quasi-experimental studies are needed to support inferences about causality. Variable omission may have influenced the models. More research is needed to better understand the concept of reflection-based mentoring.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the mentoring field by examining mentors’ preference for reflection based and clear mentoring and how such preferences are related to self-efficacy and effort. It also contributes to general and theoretical discussions about the relationships between beliefs about mentoring and mentor characteristics.

Characteristics of Successful Internal Medicine Resident Research Projects: Predictors of Journal Publication Versus Abstract Presentation.

To identify the characteristics of successful research projects at an internal medicine residency program with an established research curriculum. The authors collected data about all research projects initiated by or involving medicine residents from 2006 to 2013 at Baystate Medical Center, using departmental files and institutional review board applications. Resident and mentor characteristics were determined using personnel files and Medline searches. Using multivariable models, the authors identified predictors of successful completion of projects using adjusted prevalence ratios (PRs). The primary outcome was manuscript publication, and secondary outcome was publication or regional/national presentation. Finally, residents were surveyed to identify barriers and/or factors contributing to project completion. Ninety-four research projects were identified: 52 (55.3%) projects achieved the primary outcome and 72 (76.5%) met the secondary outcome, with overlap between categories. Most study designs were cross-sectional (41; 43.6%) or retrospective cohort (30; 31.9%). After adjustment, utilization of the epidemiology/biostatistical core (PR = 2.09; 95% CI: 1.36, 3.21), established publication record of resident (PR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.14, 2.07), and resident with U.S. medical education (PR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.02, 1.90) were associated with successful project completion. Mentor publication record (PR = 3.13) did not retain significance because of small sample size. Most respondents (65%) cited "lack of time" as a major project barrier. Programs seeking to increase resident publications should consider an institutional epidemiology/biostatistical core, made available to all residency research projects, and residents should choose experienced mentors with a track record of publications.

Promoting addiction medicine teaching through functional mentoring by co-training generalist chief residents with faculty mentors

ABSTRACTBackground: Generalist physicians should play a vital role in identifying and managing individuals with substance use but are inadequately trained to do so. Methods: This 5-year (2008–2012) controlled educational study assessed whether internal medicine and family medicine chief residents' (CRs) addiction medicine teaching increased by co-training with faculty mentors at a Chief Resident Immersion Training (CRIT) program in addiction medicine. All CRIT CR attendees identified a residency program faculty mentor to support addiction medicine teaching after CRIT through functional mentoring with a focus on developing and implementing an Addiction Medicine Teaching Project (“Teaching Project”). Approximately half of the CRs attended CRIT with their mentor (co-trained) and half without their mentor (solo-trained). Addiction medicine teaching outcomes were compared between groups using 6- and 11-month questionnaires and 4 bimonthly teaching logs. Of co-trained CRs, mentor characteristics that positively influenced addiction medicine teaching outcomes were identified. Results: One hundred CRs from 74 residency programs attended CRIT from 2008 to 2012; 47 co-trained with their mentors and 53 solo-trained without their mentors. At 6-month follow-up, the co-trained CRs were more likely to meet at least monthly with their mentor (22.7% vs. 9.6%, P < .01) and more likely to identify their mentor as a facilitator for Teaching Project implementation (82.2% vs. 38.5%, P < .01). At 11-month follow-up, a higher percentage of co-trained CRs had completed their Teaching Project (34.0% vs. 15.1%, P < .05). Both CR groups had similarly large increases in other addiction medicine teaching outcomes. Mentors with more experience, including years of teaching, was associated with better CR Teaching Project outcomes. Conclusions: Co-training generalist chief residents with a faculty mentor appeared to facilitate functional mentoring–driven Teaching Project implementation but did not further increase already high levels of other addiction medicine teaching. Faculty mentors with more years of teaching experience were more effective in facilitating Teaching Project implementation.