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Review
. 2022 May 25;32(3):723-731.
doi: 10.1007/s40670-022-01565-2. eCollection 2022 Jun.

Mentoring Medical Education Research: Guidelines from a Narrative Review

Gary L Beck Dallaghan  1 , Catherine L Coe  2 , Sarah Towner Wright  3 , Sheryl G Jordan  4
Affiliations
Review

Mentoring Medical Education Research: Guidelines from a Narrative Review

Gary L Beck Dallaghan et al. Med Sci Educ. .

Abstract

Mentorship is critical to develop research scholars. Current literature provides mentorship guidance for biomedical research; however, mentorship for educational research is scarce. We explored literature to offer evidence-based guidance for medical education research mentors. A librarian searched peer-reviewed literature from 2001 to 2021 to identify guidelines for research mentors. Thirty-five articles were included in this narrative review. Our results identified attributes of mentors, overlapping roles, and barriers and benefits of mentoring. The structures and processes related to mentoring are reviewed and applicability to medical education research mentorship is summarized.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-022-01565-2.

Keywords: Educational research; Educational scholarship; Medical student; Mentor.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Process-environment mentorship model (adapted from Hickey et al. [26]). Process elements include communication, reflection, dual focus, and fade control. Environmental elements of this model involve participation (opportunities), community (active engagement), and ingredients (skills and knowledge)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Search strategy and article selection process. The results of the literature search conducted by the librarian along with additional reference mining resulted in 17 articles specifically related to guidelines for educational research mentors
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Benefits and barriers for medical education research mentors. Guided by the literature, this figure summarizes key benefits and potential barriers for faculty considering mentoring trainees in medical education research
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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