Surgery Mentorship for Medical Students: A Pilot Study

• Published in: The Journal of surgical research Vol. 293; pp. 503 - 510
• Main Authors: Porterhouse, Melissa, Negris, Olivia, Laskowski, Taylor, Owen, Grant, Shah, Ami, Alvarado, Rosalinda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01-01-2024
• Subjects: Curriculum; Medical education; Mentorship; Students; Surgery; Medical education; Curriculum; Students; Mentorship; Surgery
• ISSN: 0022-4804; 1095-8673
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2023.09.019

Mentorship plays a valuable role in medical education by helping students navigate significant career decisions and cultivate enhanced professional networks. We sought to implement and evaluate a surgical mentorship program for medical students.
Student members of the Surgery Interest Group and faculty surgeons were invited to participate in a mentorship program. Mentees were randomly paired with a mentor and instructed to schedule three meetings with their mentor and attend four structured group sessions. Pre-program and post-program surveys were administered and were standardized using a five-point Likert scale. Post-program interviews were conducted with willing participants.
Forty three mentees and 21 mentors were enrolled. Thirty two mentees (74.4%) and nine mentors (42.9%) completed both pre-surveys and post-surveys. In pre-surveys, strong communication was rated as a top factor of importance by mentors and mentees (76.2% versus 95.3%, P = 0.03). In post-surveys, seven mentors (77.8%) and 20 mentees (62.5%) found communication with their mentee or mentor to be effective. Seven mentors (77.8%) and 17 mentees (53.1%) gained a connection with a mentee or mentor. Mentees critiqued mentor communication in comments (9, 28.2%) and interviews (2, 33.3%). Mentors critiqued student communication and initiative in comments (4, 44.4%) and interviews (2, 66.7%).
Our findings suggest a semi-structured mentorship program can provide meaningful network connections to medical students interested in pursuing surgery. However, it is critical to ensure adequate communication and sufficient commitment from mentees and mentors.