Medical school mentoring programs incorporate a wide range of objectives. Clinical mentoring programs help to develop students’ clinical skills and can increase interest in under-subscribed specialties. Those that focus on teaching professionalism are integrated into medical school curriculums in order to overcome the “hidden curriculum”. Positive mentoring plays a part in reversing the decline of academic medicine, by sparking interest through early research experiences. It also has an important role in encouraging recruitment of under-represented minority groups into the medical profession through widening access programs. The aim of our review of the literature, is to analyze current trends in medical student mentoring programs, taking into account their objectives, execution, and evaluation. We outline the challenges encountered, potential benefits, and key future implications for mentees, mentors, and institutions.

General practice is as good, if not better, than hospital delivery of teaching of clinical skills. Our meta-ethnography has produced rich understandings of the complex relationships shaping possibilities for student and patient active participation in learning.

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The conduct of intimate examinations in medical settings has been a subject of controversy for many years, because of potential difficulties and pitfalls for both doctors and patients. The royal colleges, 1 the General Medical Council, and the defence organisations now emphasise the importance of ensuring that these examinations are not done by unaccompanied doctors. Some studies have shown, however, that the attitudes and behaviour of medical professionals are often at odds with these recommendations 2 3 and that patients may not always welcome the offer, let alone the presence, of a third person in the consultation. 4 We describe the attitudes and practices of general practitioners regarding the involvement of chaperones during intimate examinations and identify barriers and concerns affecting their use. Participants, methods, and resultsA self completion questionnaire, with 38 items, was developed from themes emerging from patient focus groups and was piloted and modified before being sent to 1813 doctors from 18 primary care trusts in England, selected to achieve geographical and demographic diversity. A single postal reminder was sent to non-responders.We analysed 1246 (69%) of the questionnaires. The mean age of respondents was 45 (range 27-69); 754 (61%) were male and 972 (78%) were white. In all, 890 practices (71%) were urban, with 132 (11%) rural and 203 (16%) intermediate. There were more female general practitioners (GPs) in rural practices and more GPs from ethnic minorities in urban practices.A total of 457 (37%) respondents had a policy on the use of chaperones. Altogether 517 (68%) male GPs and 24 (5%) women usually or always offered a chaperone; 410 (54%) men and 9 (2%) women usually or always used a chaperone; 60 males (8%) and 344 females (70%) never used one ( 2 = 583.9, 3 degrees of freedom, P < 0.001).Use of chaperones was correlated with increasing age (Pearson's r = 0.18, P < 0.01), belonging to a non-white ethnic group ( 2 = 68.9, P < 0.001), and working in a smaller practice (Spearman's r = 0.14, P < 0.01).Practice nurses were the most common chaperones with 969 (78%) GPs reporting that they were likely or very likely to be used. A family member or accompanying person (585; 47%), a non-clinical member of the practice staff (535; 43%), a student or GP registrar (275; 22%) or another doctor (119; 10%) were alternatives. Most respondents rarely or never recorded the offer (818; 66%) or the identity (884; 71%) of a chaperone. A number of factors influenced the use of chaperones (figure). CommentThe use of chaperones by male doctors has substantially increased since the 1980s and '90s and a continuing low level of use by female doctors despite one third of practices having a policy. Record keeping about the offer and use of chaperones is poor, and significant barriers to the use of appropriate chaperones in general practice still undoubtedly exist. The recommendations of the royal colleges and other bodies are, therefore, difficult to implement fully. Their advice may be appropriate in most...

The implications of these results for medical school curricula are discussed with particular reference to Government plans to expand medical student numbers and establish new medical schools with explicit aims to produce more GPs.

Learning psychiatry in primary care settings offers students a broader experience of a range of patients than in hospital settings and encourages a 'person-centred' approach, which in turn can have a positive impact on their attitudes to mental illness, reducing stereotyping and increasing empathy.

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BackgroundMuch of a General Practitioner’s (GP) workload consists of managing patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). GP trainees are often taking responsibility for looking after people with MUS for the first time and so are well placed to reflect on this and the preparation they have had for it; their views have not been documented in detail in the literature. This study aimed to explore GP trainees’ clinical and educational experiences of managing people presenting with MUS.MethodA mixed methods approach was adopted. All trainees from four London GP vocational training schemes were invited to take part in a questionnaire and in-depth semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire explored educational and clinical experiences and attitudes towards MUS using Likert scales and free text responses. The interviews explored the origins of these views and experiences in more detail and documented ideas about optimising training about MUS. Interviews were analysed using the framework analysis approach.ResultsEighty questionnaires out of 120 (67 %) were returned and a purposive sample of 15 trainees interviewed. Results suggested most trainees struggled to manage the uncertainty inherent in MUS consultations, feeling they often over-investigated or referred for their own reassurance. They described difficulty in broaching possible psychological aspects and/or providing appropriate explanations to patients for their symptoms. They thought that more preparation was needed throughout their training. Some had more positive experiences and found such consultations rewarding, usually after several consultations and developing a relationship with the patient.ConclusionManaging MUS is a common problem for GP trainees and results in a disproportionate amount of anxiety, frustration and uncertainty. Their training needs to better reflect their clinical experience to prepare them for managing such scenarios, which should also improve patient care.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-015-0523-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.