Impact of an Institution-Wide Mentoring Program on a Single-Class Cohort of Pediatric Residents

This article was migrated. The article was not marked as recommended. Background: Formal mentorship programs have been shown to improve knowledge and clinical skills acquisition, enhance efficiency, and increase research interest. However, there are few detailed reports of mentoring for pediatric residents specifically. Objective: To describe a formal, institution-wide and longitudinal resident mentoring program and to assess resident perceptions of their satisfaction with their primary (program-matched) mentor and their mentoring needs over time. Methods: The program surveyed all residents annually about their experience (n = 108). We administered an additional survey to a selected class cohort in their 3rd year to assess perceptions of mentor assistance in specific domains. All survey data was de-identified and we used descriptive statistics. Results: The selected class cohort consisted of 36 total residents, 30 of which were categorical. The survey response rate for categorical residents each of the three years was ≥ 90%. The response rate for the additional survey sent in the 3rd year of residency was 57% (17/30). Most residents desired to continue with their assigned mentor throughout residency. Mentorship domains that seemed most important to pediatric residents throughout training included: clinical skills, guidance with scholarly projects, & career planning. Later in training, job search skills, negotiation skills and wellness were seen as important mentorship needs. However, most residents perceived having little active assistance from their mentor related to their scholarly work. Conclusions: An institutional mentorship program with careful formal mentor-mentee matching can be a successful strategy to initiate long-term 1:1 mentor relationships throughout residency training. As mentoring needs change across training years, mentoring programs should consider tailoring mentoring priorities and training to match needs associated with the year of training, in addition to the specific needs of the individual resident.