Long-term impact of a faculty mentoring program in academic medicine

Abstract

The authors conducted a prospective longitudinal study from 2009 to 2016 to assess the short and long-term impact of a formal mentorship program on junior faculty satisfaction and productivity. Junior faculty mentees enrolled in the program and junior faculty without formal mentorship were administered surveys before and after the program to assess satisfaction with their mentoring experiences. Long-term retention, promotion, and funding data were also collected. Twenty-three junior faculty mentees and 91 junior faculty controls were included in the study. Mentees came from the Departments of Radiation Oncology and Anesthesia, Critical Care, and Pain Management. After participating in the mentorship program, mentees demonstrated an increase in satisfaction from baseline in five of seven domains related to mentoring, while controls experienced no significant change in satisfaction in six of the seven domains. At long-term follow up, mentees were more likely than controls to hold senior faculty positions (percent senior faculty: 47% vs. 13%, p = 0.030) despite no difference in initial administrative rank. When comparing the subset of faculty who were Instructors at baseline, mentees were more likely to be funded and/or promoted than controls (p = 0.030). A majority of mentees reported that the program strengthened their long-term success, and many maintained their original mentoring relationships and formed new ones, highlighting the strong culture of mentorship that was instilled. Several short-term and long-term benefits were fostered from this formal mentorship program. These findings highlight the potential impact of mentorship programs in propagating a culture of mentorship and excellence.

Championing women working in health across regional and rural Australia – a new dual-mentorship model

“…didactic or peer-peer support) may not be suitable. Traditional hierarchical mentoring with unidirectional mentor-mentee relationships have worked well in large research institutes and shown transformative mentorship for junior faculty in the short [36] and long-term [37]. However, these relationships in regional settings can be time-consuming and challenging when mentors are faced with demands of working multiple roles (clinical, research, teaching) and having overlapping roles as mentors and supervisors [38].…”

Facilitated Peer Mentorship to Support Aging Research: A RE‐AIM Evaluation of the CoMPAdRE Program

“…4 Facilitated peer mentorship programs may be one mechanism to address the disparities that exist at the associate and full professor levels at the majority of academic medical centers and major universities. 17,18 …”

“…Peer mentorship may be of particular benefit to minority groups by facilitating a professional network that is requisite to obtaining a national reputation and academic promotion . Facilitated peer mentorship programs may be one mechanism to address the disparities that exist at the associate and full professor levels at most academic medical centers and major universities …”

Pediatric anesthesia training to early career stage: Opportunities for firm foundations

“…(Table 1) Mentorship can be defined as a relationship between a mentor and mentee in which the mentor shares useful experience, knowledge, skills and offers advice, guidance, support, or opportunities to a mentee for overall development. [1][2][3][4][5][6]9,20,21 Aspects of mentoring overlap with coaching and being an advisor, but in its entirety, it encompasses much more. 20 A mentor focuses on long-term mentee professional growth without an absolute structure whereas a coach aims to improve short term performance or impart a skill using a structured program in a unidirectional, nonreciprocal interaction.…”

“…12 If early research success leads to future ideas that the mentee develops throughout their career, it may lead to the advancement of the field and increase academic productivity for both the specialty and institution. 1,5,6,11,19,21 By their senior years, residents will be focused on a near-future career trajectory. 11,26 Some questions that they will be pondering are whether to pursue a pediatric anesthesia fellowship or work as a generalist, what to look for in a fellowship program, and where to apply.…”