Medical Student and Senior Participants' Perceptions of a Mentoring Program Designed to Enhance Geriatric Medical Education

Abstract

In 2000, the Senior Mentor Program was implemented as an innovative, instructional method in the University of South Carolina's medical school curriculum designed to enhance and strengthen student training in geriatrics. This study qualitatively analyzed second- year medical students' and senior participants' perceptions of and attitudes towards the Senior Mentor Program as an effective learning modality. A total of 36 second-year students from two consecutive classes (2002-2003) and 42 senior mentors at USC's School of Medicine participated in five and seven separate focus group interviews, respectively. The group discussions were transcribed and a content analysis performed using NVivo. The coding scheme and analyses were driven by the data collected and recurrent themes were examined across all focus groups. Overall, student and senior mentor participants viewed the program positively. Thematic comparisons by participant type indicate a shared view that the mentoring relationship has a far-reaching, educational, professional, and personal impact. Both students and seniors agreed that myths and stereotypes about aging were dispelled and students indicated that a close, caring relationship with an older person will change they way they practice. A longitudinal mentoring program that pairs students with community-dwelling seniors can be a valuable addition to traditional geriatric curricular activities designed to increase students' skills and compassion for caring for older adults.

Mentoring medical students during clinical courses: A way to enhance professional development

“…Therefore, we used literature where the role of the mentor was described in a similar way, while literature with an obviously different role of the mentor was excluded (Scheckler et al 2004;Goldstein et al 2005;Hoffman et al 2006;Corwin et al 2006;Heflin 2006;Nguyen & Divino 2007;Hoffman et al 2008). Because of the multiple roles of 'mentor' in medical educational literature (Berk et al 2005;Bray & Nettleton 2007;Nettleton & Bray 2008;Ali & Panther 2008) and the fact that the role of the mentor is not always clarified, it has to be taken into consideration that the referenced literature may comprise other roles of the mentor than those indicated in this study.…”

Prostate Cancer Communication Strategies Recommended by Older African-American Men in South Carolina: A Qualitative Analysis

“…This type of qualitative methodology and analysis has been used previously by authors. [18][19][20][21] …”

Mentoring: uma vivência de humanização e desenvolvimento no curso médico

“…Escolas médicas desenvolvem programas de mentoring com diferentes objetivos, como: a adaptação ao ambiente acadêmico, o estímulo a áreas de atuação específica, o acolhimento a demandas específicas de grupos minoritários, além da ampliação da rede de relações acadêmicas e profissionais [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] . Podendo adotar diferentes formatos, é fundamental que a atividade respeite as necessidades e os objetivos do corpo discente e docente e busque a participação ativa dos envolvidos 6,11 .…”