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Abstract
Background: Traditional one-on-one mentorship of trainees is challenging for multi-site training programs. Our three-site Neonatal – Perinatal Medicine Training Program therefore implemented collaborative mentorship.
Aim: To describe and evaluate the effectiveness of collaborative mentorship.
Method: Faculty Advisory Committee Triads (FACTs), comprising one staff neonatologist from each site, were created for each trainee. Guidelines for meeting frequency and process were developed. After 3 years, participants were invited to complete a questionnaire exploring three domains – helpfulness, participant opinion, and process.
Results: Twenty-four staff participated in 32 FACTs that mentored 32 trainees; 19 staff (79%) and 19 trainees (60%) completed the survey. All but one respondent preferred FACTs to individual mentors. Trainees were comfortable discussing both training program issues (90%) and social or personal issues (47%) with their FACT. Despite various ethno-cultural backgrounds, only 26% thought these should be similar for FACTs and trainees. More than 80% found FACTs supportive and beneficial for providing staff contacts at each site. Trainees found FACTs helpful for career planning, resource identification, clinical performance advice, and research motivation. More staff (79%) than trainees (33%) felt FACTs helped trainees get started in the program (p = 0.01), perhaps because not all trainees (47%) met with their FACT at the start of training. FACTs met one to four times annually; staff availability made scheduling difficult.
Conclusion: In a multi-site training program, collaborative mentorship was effective in overcoming many barriers encountered with one-on-one mentorship.