Models for mentoring students in medicine: implications for student well-being

Abstract

The stresses which students commonly face during premedical and medical training can take a costly toll on student well-being and, eventually, on empathic patient care. This paper describes supportive programs for students at two schools of medicine, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and Brown University. The docent teams at UMKC provide students with a 4-year system of mentoring by a physician/teacher and a junior/senior student partnership. At Brown Medical School, affinity groups, led by medical faculty and arts and sciences faculty, engage students in the study of issues of common interest while providing opportunities for early clinical experience and community involvement. They meet weekly during years three through six of the 8-year program and function as a support group with educational objectives. Implications for other medical schools are suggested, and data measuring the two programs' effectiveness are presented.