Identifying Components of Success Within Health Sciences-Focused Mentoring Programs Through a Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective. To identify programmatic components and structural features associated with success of mentoring programs within the health sciences. Findings. Thirty-eight manuscripts representing 34 individual programs were reviewed. Of the institutions represented, 68% were public. Sixty-eight percent of programs included single disciplines only, with four focused in pharmacy, 13 in medicine, and six in nursing. Of the 34 individual programs, all programs reporting participant confidence and self-efficacy reported success in that domain. Eighteen programs reported outcomes related to scholarly activity that included publications or funding/grantsmanship; 16 reported success. Eleven of 16 programs reporting promotion/tenure and/or faculty retention rates reported success. Program components associated with successful programs included frequent meetings (at least monthly) and delivering content within formal curricula. Content categories common within programs reporting success were content related to research, funding/grantsmanship and networking/collaboration. In addition, specific for the promotion/retention domain, content related to curriculum/teaching was commonly found within successful programs. Summary. Although somewhat dependent on the program's specific goals, curriculum most commonly associated with success contained content on research, grantsmanship/funding, curriculum/teaching, and networking/collaboration. Among many programs, the reporting lacked objective, standardized metrics and often included only generalized descriptions/categorization of course content. The incomplete and inconsistent reporting limited our ability to draw conclusions regarding individual topics important for each program component. Proper planning, execution, and assessment of faculty mentoring programs is critical to the identification of additional program characteristics for optimal faculty success.

Keywords: faculty; faculty development; faculty mentoring; health sciences; program development.