Mentoring Program For Students Research Articles

Early Mentoring of Medical Students and Junior Doctors on a Path to Academic Cardiothoracic Surgery

In 2005 the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Royal Children's Hospital started an early academic mentoring program for medical students and junior doctors with the aim of fostering an interest in academic surgery. Between 2005 and 2015, 37 medical students and junior doctors participated in research in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Royal Children's Hospital. Each was given an initial project on which to obtain ethics approval, perform a literature review, data collection, statistical analysis, and prepare a manuscript for publication. A search of the names of these former students and doctors was conducted on PubMed to identify publications. A total of 113 journal articles were published in peer-reviewed journals with an average impact factor of 4.1 (range, 1.1 to 19.9). Thirty (30 of 37, 81%) published at least one article. A mean of 4.3 journal articles was published per student or junior doctor (range, 0 to 29). Eleven (11 of 37, 30%) received scholarships for their research. Nine (9 of 37, 24%) have completed or are enrolled in higher research degrees with a cardiothoracic surgery focus. Of these 9, 2 have completed doctoral degrees while in cardiothoracic surgery training. Five will complete their cardiothoracic surgery training with a doctoral degree and the other 2 are pursuing training in cardiology. A successful early academic mentoring program in a busy cardiothoracic surgery unit is feasible. Mentoring of motivated individuals in academic surgery benefits not only their medical career, but also helps maintain high academic output of the unit.

Promoting professional identity, motivation, and persistence: Benefits of an informal mentoring program for female undergraduate students.

Women are underrepresented in a number of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Limited diversity in the development of the STEM workforce has negative implications for scientific innovation, creativity, and social relevance. The current study reports the first-year results of the PROmoting Geoscience Research, Education, and SuccesS (PROGRESS) program, a novel theory-driven informal mentoring program aimed at supporting first- and second-year female STEM majors. Using a prospective, longitudinal, multi-site (i.e., 7 universities in Colorado/Wyoming Front Range & Carolinas), propensity score matched design, we compare mentoring and persistence outcomes for women in and out of PROGRESS (N = 116). Women in PROGRESS attended an off-site weekend workshop and gained access to a network of volunteer female scientific mentors from on- and off-campus (i.e., university faculty, graduate students, and outside scientific professionals). The results indicate that women in PROGRESS had larger networks of developmental mentoring relationships and were more likely to be mentored by faculty members and peers than matched controls. Mentoring support from a faculty member benefited early-undergraduate women by strengthening their scientific identity and their interest in earth and environmental science career pathways. Further, support from a faculty mentor had a positive indirect impact on women’s scientific persistence intentions, through strengthened scientific identity development. These results imply that first- and second- year undergraduate women’s mentoring support networks can be enhanced through provision of protégé training and access to more senior women in the sciences willing to provide mentoring support.

Pharmacy resident-led student mentoring program: A focus on developing mentoring skills

Background and purposeFormalized mentoring programs are often credited for influencing professional development of mentees. Unfortunately, little information exists regarding advancement of mentoring skills. We report the development and evaluation of a program to cultivate mentoring skills in pharmacy residents. Educational activity and settingAdvanced pharmacy practice experience students and pharmacy residents were contacted for program participation. Resident mentors were paired with a student mentee for the program. Mentors were provided resources and support throughout the program. Sessions were held to facilitate mentoring relationships and to discuss professional development topics. Pre- and post-perception surveys were administered to mentors to measure changes in mentoring comfort and ability. Only matched pre- and post-surveys were included for analysis. The program was held and evaluated over two separate academic years FindingsFifty-three residents mentored 54 students over two cycles of the program. Mentors' matched perception surveys (n = 26) reported increased comfort in mentoring (p < 0.001), increased confidence in delivery of subjective content (p < 0.001), increased comfort in providing written and oral feedback (p = 0.013), and increased effectiveness in provision of written and oral feedback (p = 0.004 and p = 0.013 respectively). Mentors also reported heightened belief that serving as a student mentor will be beneficial to their long-term career goals (p = 0.034). Discussion and summaryOverall, this formal resident-led student mentoring program improved resident comfort serving in a mentoring role.

A specialist peer mentoring program for university students on the autism spectrum: A pilot study.

IntroductionThe provision of peer mentoring may improve tertiary education outcomes of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study evaluated the pilot year of the Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program (CSMP), a specialised peer mentoring program for university students with ASD aimed at improving self-reported well-being, academic success and retention in university studies.MethodsA single group pre-test, post-test design was employed. Quantitative and qualitative evaluations were undertaken with 10 young adults with ASD to explore the effectiveness and acceptability of the CSMP program. Students completed a battery of questionnaires focused on general anxiety, state communication apprehension, perceived communication competence, and communication apprehension both prior to, and five months after commencing enrolment in the CSMP. Information regarding academic success and retention was also obtained. Interviews with participants provided further insight into their experience of the program.ResultsStudents enrolled in the CSMP showed significant improvement in social support and general communication apprehension assessment scores. Interviews revealed key features of the CSMP that may have contributed to these positive outcomes.ConclusionsThe current study provides preliminary evidence that a specialised peer mentoring program can improve the well-being of students with ASD, and highlights the importance of interventions which are individualised, flexible, based on a social model, and target environmental factors such as social support.

Peer to peer mentoring: Outcomes of third-year midwifery students mentoring first-year students.

Undergraduate midwifery students commonly experience anxiety in relation to their first clinical placement. A peer mentoring program for midwifery students was implemented in an urban Australian university. The participants were first-year mentee and third-year mentor students studying a three-year Bachelor degree in midwifery. The program offered peer support to first-year midwifery students who had little or no previous exposure to hospital clinical settings. Mentors received the opportunity to develop mentoring and leadership skills. The aim was to explore the benefits, if any, of a peer mentoring program for midwifery students. The peer mentoring program was implemented in 2012. Sixty-three peer mentors and 170 mentees participated over three academic years. Surveys were distributed at the end of each academic year. Quantitative survey data were analysed descriptively and qualitative survey data were analysed thematically using NVivo 10 software. Over 80% of mentors and mentees felt that the program helped mentees adjust to their midwifery clinical placement. At least 75% of mentors benefited, in developing their communication, mentoring and leadership skills. Three themes emerged from the qualitative data, including 'Receiving start-up advice'; 'Knowing she was there' and 'Wanting more face to face time'. There is a paucity of literature on midwifery student peer mentoring. The findings of this program demonstrate the value of peer support for mentees and adds knowledge about the mentor experience for undergraduate midwifery students. The peer mentor program was of benefit to the majority of midwifery students.

Mentorship in Radiology

Mentoring is an extremely important component of academic medicine, including radiology, yet it is not specifically emphasized in radiology training, and many academic radiology departments in the United States, Canada, and elsewhere do not have formal mentoring programs for medical students, residents, fellows, or junior faculty. The purpose of this article is to overview the current status of mentorship in radiology, to discuss the importance of mentorship at multiple levels and its potential benefits in particular, as well as how to conduct a successful mentor-mentee relationship. The literature on mentorship in radiology and in academic medicine in general is reviewed.

Dual peer mentoring program for undergraduate medical students: exploring the perceptions of mentors and mentees.

Background: Despite the advantages of dual peer mentoring, there are a few reports of implementing and evaluating such programs for medical students. This study aimed at exploring the perceptions of mentors and mentees about the dual peer mentoring program for the first year undergraduate medical students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted at the end of the first year of implementing the mentoring program. All mentees and mentors were invited to participate in focus group discussions. Data were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis. Results: All mentors (n= 12) and a group of mentees (n= 21) participated in focus group discussion sessions. We provided a variety of supports for the mentees including academic and psychosocial support and positive relationship; as a result, some developments occurred to the mentors We also explored participants’ views on some unique aspects of the program such as student-authorized, dual mentoring, and role model sessions. Conclusion: Our participants found the mentoring program beneficial in various academic achievements and psychosocial supports for both the mentors and the mentees. Dual peer mentoring program can be an alternative to school administered programs.

Hospital-based, Multidisciplinary, youth mentoring and medical exposure program positively influences and reinforces health care career choice: “The Reach One Each One Program early Experience”

BackgroundAccording to the National Center for Educational Statistics, underrepresented minorities (URMs) are more likely to leave science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields at higher rates than their peers during undergraduate studies. Many institutions of higher learning have implemented pipeline programs aimed at preparing and inspiring high school and college aged students in select careers in health sciences with varying levels of success. Research has shown that a health care workforce that mirrors the community they serve is more effective in reducing health disparities and increasing positive health outcomes. We hypothesize that a hospital-based, multidisciplinary youth mentoring and medical exposure program will enhance the decision of URM high school students to choose healthcare careers. Materials and methodA retrospective analysis of the Reach One Each One Program (ROEO) was performed. ROEO is a hospital based, 11-week multidisciplinary youth mentoring and medical exposure program for inner-city high school students. The analysis was based on a phone survey of the twenty-six (26) seniors who completed the program and subsequently graduated from high school between May 2013 and May 2015 to assess the following: 1) College enrollment/attendance, 2) Health profession majors, and 3) Pre-med status. The study was approved by the Morehouse School of Medicine Institutional Review Board. ResultsOf the twenty-six students, 23 were female and 3 were male; 25 (96%) of the students were African American and one student was a Caucasian female. Twenty-four (92.3%) of the students were enrolled in college and 2 (7.7%) were scheduled to begin in the spring semester of 2016. Twenty-one of the 24 attending college at the time of the survey (87.5%) were enrolled in a health science degree program and 16 (66.7%) confirmed that they were enrolled in pre-medical (Pre-med) curriculum. ConclusionHospital-based, multidisciplinary medical mentoring programs can have a positive impact on the lives and health care career decisions of aspiring URM high school students. Further study will be necessary to validate the most influential components needed for the success of such programs.

Mentoring program for students newly enrolled in an Engineering Degree

&lt;p class="Textoindependiente21"&gt;This work presents a mentoring program for first year engineering students in the Telecommunications Engineering College (ETSIT) at the University of Malaga (UMA). Actors involved in the program are professors from staff, veterans mentoring students and, of course, freshmen. All of them has been organized trough the Moodle based Virtual Learning Environment Platform of the UMA. The program has gone through several phases over three years. This paper shows the main objectives of this mentoring program, the initial design to get them where professors played mentor role, and successive changes made to try to improve the results, including the assumption of the mentor role by senior students (peer mentoring). The tools used for program evaluation are shown too. Despite the low participation, it has been a framework for the development of various educational and socializing activities (for mentors and mentees) focused on developing generic competences. Furthermore, it has been a research tool to get a better understanding of problems affecting students newly enrolled.&lt;/p&gt;

Developing a Successful Master of Health Administration Student Mentor-Mentee Program.

A student mentoring program can impact the overall experience in an academic program and establish a strong connection between students. It creates a platform for students to ask specific questions, learn more about the curriculum and professional opportunities, and compare tips on how to approach businesses for career-building positions. Topics such as conducting a residency search, finding an external mentor, and navigating through academic projects are often stressful components of the master of health administration (MHA) curriculum. This stress and confusion can be reduced by engaging students to actively communicate and utilize university resources through the mentor program. Future opportunities exist for growth and expansion of the mentor programs within an existing or newly established MHA program. Key factors to successful integration of the student mentor-mentee program are open communication and transparency between students, program chair, and faculty. This study compares past methods for implementing and running a mentor program, with newer program models. In addition, the various models of mentor programs will be discussed within the academic environment of an MHA program.

The effects of high-quality student mentoring

This paper evaluates the impact of a university mentoring program for first semester economics and management students on academic performance. For identification, I use a difference-in-differences approach with students in a similar degree program as control group. The mentoring program decreases failure rates by 15.4 percentage points. These large effects can be explained by quality features of the mentoring program, including graduate mentors, a low mentor-to-mentee ratio and compulsory, pre-scheduled, face-to-face appointments.

Residents as Medical Student Mentors During the Obstetrics and Gynecology Clerkship

PURPOSE: To establish and evaluate a medical student mentoring program (MSMP) for medical students during their obstetrics and gynecology clerkship. BACKGROUND: Mentoring programs for medical students during core clerkships is novel for some institutions, including the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. Numerous potential benefits are possible. Identification and neutralization of potential barriers to implementation may lead to long term enthusiasm for and acceptance of the mentoring program. METHODS: One senior obstetrics and gynecology resident physician was assigned one or two medical students per 6-week rotation. Residents were given information regarding MSMP requirements, and randomly assigned to students. Students were provided MSMP information during clerkship orientation. Surveys were administered to students during orientation before meeting their residents and at the end of clerkship. Surveys were administered to residents during the last week of clerkships. RESULTS: Surveys were collected from 29 students. All students reported not having a MSMP available on other clerkships. Postclerkship, students indicated they would participate in the MSMP again (79.3%), felt other students would benefit from having a mentor on other clerkships (75.0%), and felt the MSMP was beneficial to their clerkship (81.5%). Students reported receiving educational (11, 44.0%) and clinical (21, 84.0%) instruction, personal development feedback (14, 56.0%), and career advice (6, 24.0%) from mentors. Mentors returned 16 feedback surveys; residents were not burdened by students (75.0%), and all mentors responded that they would participate in the MSMP again. DISCUSSION: Establishing a mentoring program for medical students during core clerkships is novel for the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, and may provide potential benefits and one-on-one instruction to medical students.

Graduates giving back – a mentoring program for MBA students

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges and obstacles encountered in the implementation of a mentoring program for Master of Business Administration (MBA) students at the University of South Australia (UniSA) Business School. The paper starts with an exploration into the need for a mentoring program, the trial and subsequent four years of implementation. The paper also explores the network model of mentoring and the reasons why this, rather than a more traditional model, was chosen for the program’s implementation.Design/methodology/approach– This exploratory case study uses data from over 600 students and their alumni mentors over a five-year period to evaluate and improve the program as well as cultivating a critical community of adult learners.Findings– Feedback from students indicates that the mentoring program is regarded by most as a value-added feature of their early learning as it offers support, if and when it is required, from those who have been there before.Research limitations/implications– Results are limited to one institution. However, as research into mentoring for higher education students is thin on the ground, this study contributes to our understanding of the positive impacts of mentoring on student success.Practical implications– This paper emphasizes the importance of business leaders giving back to their alma mater through mentoring current MBA students. It shows how mentoring can support learning and management development.Originality/value– This is an original study which explores ways to increase the learning of higher education students for positive social outcomes.

Wiz Kidz: Fostering School Connectedness through an In-School Student Mentoring Program

This study explores a student mentoring program called the Wiz Kidz, located within a Canadian urban elementary school of 420 students. The Wiz Kidz participants, their teachers and parents, and a student comparison group provided data on student connectedness to school, peers, and teachers. Overall findings suggest the students involved in the Wiz Kidz program enjoyed participating and reported increases in connectedness at the end of the year, with statistical significance observed for mentors’ connectedness to school.

Mentoring Strategies and Outcomes of Two Federally Funded Cancer Research Training Programs for Underrepresented Students in the Biomedical Sciences.

The US is experiencing a severe shortage of underrepresented biomedical researchers. The purpose of this paper is to present two case examples of cancer research mentoring programs for underrepresented biomedical sciences students. The first case example is a National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) P20 grant titled "South Carolina Cancer Disparities Research Center (SC CaDRe)" Training Program, contributing to an increase in the number of underrepresented students applying to graduate school by employing a triple-level mentoring strategy. Since 2011, three undergraduate and four graduate students have participated in the P20 SC CaDRe program. One graduate student published a peer-reviewed scientific paper. Two graduate students (50%) have completed their master's degrees, and the other two graduate students will receive their degrees in spring 2015. Two undergraduate students (67%) are enrolled in graduate or professional school (grad./prof. school), and the other graduate student is completing her final year of college. The second case example is a prostate cancer-focused Department of Defense grant titled "The SC Collaborative Undergraduate HBCU Student Summer Training Program," providing 24 students training since 2009. Additionally, 47 students made scientific presentations, and two students have published peer-reviewed scientific papers. All 24 students took a GRE test preparation course; 15 (63%) have applied to graduate school, and 11 of them (73%) are enrolled in grad./prof. school. Thirteen remaining students (54%) are applying to grad./prof. school. Leveraged funding provided research-training opportunities to an additional 201 National Conference on Health Disparities Student Forum participants and to 937 Ernest E. Just Research Symposium participants at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Proactive Aging and Intergenerational Mentoring Program to Promote the Well-Being of Older Adults: Pilot Studies

Proactive aging and intergenerational programs are becoming important for two major reasons. First, the aging population underscores the importance of creating opportunities for older adults to continue engaging in society. Second, there is an increasing need to develop sustainable means to assist older adults in need. The present project describes two innovative pilot studies on the well-being of older adults: (1) a psychoeducational program on proactive aging for senior citizens; (2) an intergenerational mentoring program for university students in which non-frail older adults pair up with students to provide support to the frail elderly. The outcomes of the interventions suggest enhanced psychological and social well-being of the older adults and students. The project will have important implications for developing long-term community and university partnerships as well as multi-modal psychoeducational materials to sustain the initiative after completion of the project.

Developing Peer Led Check-In/Check-Out: A Peer-Mentoring Program for Children in Residential Care

Check-in/check-out (CICO) is a practical, resource-efficient mentoring program for students with behavioral challenges that has been implemented with success in both traditional and Alternative Educational (AE) settings. Traditionally, the CICO program has utilized adults exclusively to direct the mentoring process. This pilot study explored an extension to the CICO program, peer led check-in/check-out (PL-CICO), which allowed peers to facilitate the mentoring process. Results of this pilot utilizing a single-subject reversal design (A-B-A-B) indicate that the PL-CICO program improved mentee behavior. Furthermore, researchers report high rates of fidelity for student mentors’ implementation of the PL-CICO protocol. Additionally, both student and staff participants rated PL-CICO favorably, according to social validity measures.

Faculty and Student Perceptions of a Physical Therapy Professional Behavior Mentoring Program

Purpose: Mentoring is a process and a relationship between a novice and an expert that fosters intellectual, personal, and professional growth. The purposes and scope of this article are to describe 1) the structured professional development component of a comprehensive mentoring program for students in a physical therapy program; and 2) the perceptions of faculty and students regarding this mentoring program. Method: Faculty and students completed electronic questionnaires developed specifically for each group. Results: Return rate was 54.50% (N=286) for physical therapist students and 100% (N=18) for physical therapy faculty. Student positive ratings regarding the mentoring program exceeded 89.00%. Additionally, 76.75% of the students reported seeking feedback and advice from their faculty mentor to make informed decisions. Students perceived their mentors to be committed to helping them achieve their personal/professional goals (94.96%). Faculty mentors reported that they enjoy being mentors (94.12%), believe they have a responsibility to assist in the professional socialization of mentees (100.00%), and that mentees benefitted from meeting with them regarding professional behavior issues (92.86%). Conclusions: Faculty mentors and student mentees perceive that students benefit from mentoring regarding professional behavior issues and that the mentoring program is valuable and worth the time spent participating in it. We suggest that the process and documents developed by the Program in Physical Therapy may be used as a basis for critical dialogue within other academic units for the purpose of determining the desired professional behavior mentoring system for that particular academic entity.

Mentoring Education Students at the University of Namibia

Mentoring has become increasingly a practice across a variety of professional disciplines such as education and many other disciplines in the 21st century worldwide. The article provides a discussion into the mentoring program for education student teachers introduced by the Faculty of Education at the University of Namibia. The research focuses mainly on whether mentors like or dislike the mentoring program or it is just okay they do not like it or dislike it and their suggestions to improve the program. A survey was administered to 26 mentors at the University of Namibia Hifikepunye Pohamba Campus. Data was analyzed manually with the help of Microsoft Excel in frequencies and percentages. Results are presented in tables and further discussed in the article. Suggestions to improve the Education student mentoring program are also provided.

Extended student quality improvement programs of Xiamen University.

This paper describes the recent educational activities and programs organized by the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) Xiamen University Student Club. The educational programs covered the undergraduate student mentoring program, seminar series, the top-quality course project, and student scientific projects and contests. These activities have successfully cultivated our students strong interests in the field of biomedical engineering, and also trained our students the skills of solving real-world problems and experience of teamwork collaborations. Our initiatives provide a good example of well-organized education practice for IEEE EMBS student organizations.