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. 2019 May 28;29(3):691-696.
doi: 10.1007/s40670-019-00739-9. eCollection 2019 Sep.

Insights into the Value of Student/Student Mentoring from the Mentor's Perspective

Anna Fleischman  1 , Alexander Plattner  2 , Jacqueline Lee  3 , Erin Malloy  4 , Sarah Dotters-Katz  5
Affiliations

Insights into the Value of Student/Student Mentoring from the Mentor's Perspective

Anna Fleischman et al. Med Sci Educ. .

Abstract

Objective: Determine and describe the impact of student/student mentoring (SSM) on the senior medical student mentor involved in a formal SSM program.

Method: An anonymous online survey was administered to fourth-year medical students at the University of North Carolina with questions regarding participation in SSM programs (formal and informal) as well as the impact of these experiences. Responses from fourth-year mentors were compared to non-mentors' answers. Data was analyzed to assess the value of, understand motivations for not participating in, and to describe perceptions regarding SSM.

Results: One hundred seven of 178 students in the fourth-year class completed the survey, a 60% response rate. Forty-two students participated in the formal SSM program, 48 did not have mentors (non-mentors), and 17 were excluded as they participated in informal mentoring programs. There were no differences in gender, age, or matched specialty between mentors and non-mentors. Ninety-five percent of all students agreed that SSM was valuable in a way that was different from student/resident or student/faculty mentoring. Mentors were nearly twice as non-mentors likely to believe that being the mentee in an SSM relationship would be beneficial. In addition, mentors were 4 times more likely to believe that being a mentor in an SSM program was valuable and 83% stated they would mentor again. Lastly, nearly three quarters of mentors felt that this was a worthwhile experience.

Conclusions: Students who served as mentors as part of an SSM program had positive experiences and found it a valuable addition to traditional faculty/student mentoring.

Keywords: Academic mentoring; Medical student; Mentee; Peer to peer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Study population
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