Where Do Medical Students Turn? The Role of the Assigned Mentor in the Fabric of Support During Medical School

Abstract

Background: The University of Washington School of Medicine implemented an assigned mentoring program in 2002. The College Mentors are assigned at matriculation, advise students throughout medical school, and teach and evaluate students in the 2nd-year Introduction to Clinical Medicine course. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to determine from whom students report they would seek advice and support for academic, professional, personal, and research issues. Methods: A cross-sectional cohort survey asking students whom they would first contact about academic, personal, professional, and research issues was administered to three cohorts of students in 2007. Results: Students reported that they would contact their College Mentor first for general academic progress (49.6%), personal issues (36.2%), and professional issues (64.1%) but not for research issues. Conclusions: Students identified their College Mentor as a primary contact for academic, professional, and personal issues, suggesting that neither the mentors’ assigned status or evaluator role were barriers to the mentoring relationship.

Acknowledgments

Approval for this study was granted by the Human Subjects Division of the Office of Research of the University of Washington in October 2008. We thank Eric H. Larson, PhD, Research Associate Professor, Department of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics, University of Washington School of Medicine.