Mentoring Medical Students Towards Oncology: Results from a Pilot Multi-institutional Mentorship Programme
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Mentoring Medical Students Towards Oncology: Results from a Pilot Multi-institutional Mentorship Programme Kathrine S. Rallis 1,2 & Anna Wozniak 1,2 & Sara Hui 1,2 & Adam Stammer 2 & Cigdem Cinar 3 & Min Sun 3 & Taylor Fulton-Ward 3 & Alison A. Clarke 4 & Savvas Papagrigoriadis 5 & Apostolos Papalois 6 & Michail Ch. Sideris 7 Accepted: 1 November 2020 # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The mounting global cancer burden has generated an increasing demand for oncologists to join the workforce. Yet, students report limited oncology exposure in undergraduate medical curricula, while undergraduate oncology mentorships remain underutilised. We established an undergraduate oncology society–led mentorship programme aimed at medical students across several UK universities to increase medical student oncology exposure. We electronically recruited and paired oncologist mentors and medical student mentees and distributed a dedicated questionnaire (pre- and post-mentorship) to compare mentees’ self-reported cancer specialty knowledge and oncology career motivation after undertaking a 6-week mentorship. We also determined students’ interest across specialties and subspecialties and measured mentor availability via percentage programme uptake. Statistical analysis included univariate inferential tests on SPSS software. Twentynine (23.4%) of 124 oncology specialists agreed to become mentors. The mentorship was completed by 30 students across three medical schools: 16 (53.3%) Barts, 10 (33.3%) Birmingham, and 4 (13.3%) King’s; 11 (36.7%) mentored by medical oncologists, 10 (33.3%) by clinical/radiation oncologists, and 9 (30%) by surgical oncologists. The mentorship generated a statically significant increase in students’ knowledge of the multidisciplinary team and all oncology-related specialties including academia/research but not interest towards a career in oncology. Undergraduate oncology mentoring is an effective educational, networking and motivational tool for medical students. Student societies are a valuable asset in cultivating medical student oncology interest by connecting students to faculty and increasing mentor accessibility. Further research should focus on developing an optimal mentorship structure and evaluating long-term outcomes of such educational initiatives.
Highlights of this study • To our knowledge, this is the first UK-reported data on the value of oncology mentoring for undergraduate medical students in addition to being the first UK report of an undergraduate oncology society–led mentorship initiative. • Data collection represented several institutions throughout the UK and encompassed various different oncology specialties and subspecialties, providing valuable insight into students’ interest and the benefits of oncology mentoring in different settings. • Our mentorship programme was successful in increasing medical students’ self-reported knowledge towards all oncology specialties regardless of their allocated mentor’s specialisation. • Future work should focus on generating more opportunities for medic
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