Peer mentorship for medical students and junior doctors

Dear Sir

Junior doctors and medical students find mentorship beneficial, but it is unpopular (Buddeberg-Fischer & Herta 2006). Peer mentorship programmes require fewer resources and bring benefits to both the mentor and mentee. A peer mentorship programme between junior doctors and medical students was established in Torbay Hospital. The aims were to facilitate career development, foster personal growth and to encourage future participation in mentorship.

Final year medical students and foundation programme doctors based in Torbay during the 2010/2011 academic year were invited to participate (by email). Of 44 medical students, 22 applied to the scheme, with 21 out of 84 foundation programme doctors applying to be mentors. Matching was on a 1–1 basis by career interest. Programme evaluation was by email return of a questionnaire at four months, including free text and a Likert score to measure the benefit of the programme (1 = no benefit, 5 = very beneficial) and focus groups at eight months, analysed using a grounded theory approach (more information on request). Data was received from 15 mentors and 16 mentees.

All the medical students and doctors who participated in the programme found it beneficial. The average mentee Likert score for the benefit of the programme was 3.7 with an average score of 2.7 for mentors. Medical students highlighted having approachable mentors, learning from immediate experience and aiding preparation for practice as advantageous. Foundation programme doctors highlighted the opportunity to improve mentoring skills and career portfolios as the most useful aspect. However six of the mentor–mentee pairs never met face to face.

This pilot study demonstrates that medical students and junior doctors find peer mentorship beneficial. However, it is unpopular as with traditional mentorship programmes. It is not clear as to factors influence and why some people found the programme useful whilst others were uninterested or failed to fully engage with the process. There has not been a quality systematic review of the evidence on mentorship in medical education. Such a study, ideally a realist review, would help to identify factors that influence the effectiveness of mentorship programmes and aid the development of future mentorship schemes.