Outcomes of a Five-Year Formal Ophthalmology Residency Mentorship Program

Abstract

Objective: This article describes a formal ophthalmology residency mentorship program, identifies its strengths and weaknesses over 5 years of implementation, and proposes strategies to improve qualitative outcomes of the mentorship program.

Design: Cross-sectional anonymous online survey.

Subjects: All current and former mentees and mentors at the Casey Eye Institute (CEI) residency program from 2016 to 2021.

Methods: All eligible participants were contacted via email to complete a survey to describe and analyze their experiences with the CEI's formal residency mentorship program.

Results: Of the 65 surveyed participants, 82% preferred in-person meetings and met up from 2 to 3 times (44%) to 4 to 6 times (38.5%) annually at 15 minutes to 1 hour (48%) or 1 to 2 hours (42%) duration. Sixty-two percent of meetings were initiated by mentors, 8% by mentees, and 32% shared responsibilities equally. Participants also identified the three most important qualities for successful mentor-mentee relationship as personality (33.6%), communication styles (29.2%), and extracurricular interests/hobbies (16.8%). Mentees valued career advising, networking, and wellness support over academic and research mentorship. Subjective outcomes showed 25% of the mentee and 43% of the mentors agreed the mentorship program was a valuable experience. Comparably, 14% of the mentees and 38% of the mentors prioritized the relationship. There was a strong correlation between participants who prioritized the relationship and acknowledged it as a valuable experience (p < 0.01). Eighteen percent of the mentees and 43% of the mentors found the relationship effective and met their expectations. Twenty-one percent of the mentees and 38% of the mentors believed they had the tools and skills necessary to be effective in their respective roles.

Conclusion: Our survey identified that weaknesses of the mentorship program include ineffective communications, inadequate preparation in their respective roles, and lack of priority focus on the relationship. We propose strategies to strengthen our program through creating workshops to clarify roles and responsibilities, emphasizing accountability with a contract statement, and implementing a new matching algorithm to customize participants' experience. Additional studies from other residencies with formal mentorship programs are warranted to identify, strategize, and foster high-quality mentorship.

Keywords: graduate medical education; mentorship; ophthalmology; residency training.

Fig. 1

Graphic breakdown of mentees' profile in training year. A total of 30 residents completed the survey with 17 former residents and 13 current residents.

Fig. 2

Summative graphical representations of both cohorts' communication preference ( A ), and frequency ( B ). ( A ) The communication style preferences are 82% in-person, 10% text messages, 4% emails, and 2% for phone calls and Web-based interface. ( B ) The frequency of in-person meeting for 2–3 times per year is 44%, 4–6 times per year is 38.5%. No participating pairs met more than once a month, and 17% responded with meeting once or less per year. In comparison to electronic-based communications, 49% communicated 4–6 times annually, 27% communicated more than once a month, and 14% communicated 2–3 times per year, and 10% communicated once a year.

Fig. 3

Schematic overview of a stepwise approach to assess formal mentorship program's effectiveness and four key suggestions for improvement based on identified weaknesses.