Feasibility and Impact of a Student-Led, Semi-Structured, Near-Peer Student Guides Program on Navigating Through Medical

  • PDF / 946,198 Bytes
  • 10 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
  • 36 Downloads / 196 Views

DOWNLOAD

REPORT


ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Feasibility and Impact of a Student-Led, Semi-Structured, Near-Peer Student Guides Program on Navigating Through Medical School Colleen E. Laurence 1 & Jessie R. Jones 1 & Shane N. Stone 1 & Malcolm Moses-Hampton 1 & Samuel J. Yates 1 & Mario E. Khalil 1 & Tyler E. Callese 1 & Shaina P. Kaye 1 & Scott H. Wirth 1 & Vahakn S. Keskinyan 1 & Paige G. Bentley 2,3 & Patrick S. Reynolds 4 & Roy E. Strowd 4

# International Association of Medical Science Educators 2020

Abstract Background Mentorship is critical to developing health professionals. Near-peer mentorship pairs senior mentors with junior peers to help navigate academic, professional, and social aspects of training. Methods In this convergent parallel mixed methods study, we assessed the feasibility, usability, professional and social impact, and barriers to implementation of a 16-week semi-structured, near-peer, student guides program involving 39 first year medical students (MS1s) and 41 fourth year medical students (MS4s). Student enrollment was quantified, guide-guidee meetings tracked, and > 2 meetings defined as feasible. Meeting topics, impact on student advising, and barriers to sustainability were contextualized qualitatively. Results Twenty-two percent of all MS4s and 46% of MS1s enrolled in the program; 67% of guides facilitated the requisite two meetings with their group, which was less than our predetermined feasibility criteria of 75%. Most guide-guidee interactions occurred in person (91%), but text messages (82%) and video/mobile messaging apps (78%) were also used. Ninety-two percent of guidees recommended the program, and 85% were satisfied with guidance received. Barriers included meeting coordination, infrequent meetings, and informal meeting structure. Conclusions While the program was infeasible by predefined frequency criteria, participant satisfaction was high and academic, professional, and social benefits of near-peers were reported. In response, programmatic revisions now incorporate centralized support for meetings, e-mentorship, and guide training. Keywords Mentorship . Guidance . Near-peer . Training . Development

Introduction Mentorship is critical to the training and development of medical professionals. For medical students, mentors provide long-term guidance and support for their academic, professional, and personal development. Traditional faculty-based * Roy E. Strowd [email protected] 1

Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

2

Counselling & Well-Being Services, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

3

Department of Psychiatry, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

4

Department of Neurology, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157, USA

mentoring programs are a frequent focus in medical mentorship literature and have been shown to contribute to greater student satisfaction, wellness, scholarship, and career development among students [1–4]. However, there are inherent challenges to this faculty-student relationship. The time commi