Abstract

Introduction

Mentoring has become a prevalent educational strategy in medical education, with various aims. Published reviews of mentoring report very little on group-based mentorship programs. The aim of this systematic review was to identify group-based mentorship programs for undergraduate medical students and describe their aims, structures, contents and program evaluations. Based on the findings of this review, the authors provide recommendations for the organization and assessment of such programs.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted, according to PRISMA guidelines, and using the databases Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO and ERIC up to July 2019. Eight hundred abstracts were retrieved and 20 studies included. Quality assessment of the quantitative studies was done using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI).

Results

The 20 included studies describe 17 different group mentorship programs for undergraduate medical students in seven countries. The programs were differently structured and used a variety of methods to achieve aims related to professional development and evaluation approaches. Most of the studies used a single-group cross-sectional design conducted at a single institution. Despite the modest quality, the evaluation data are remarkably supportive of mentoring medical students in groups.

Discussion

Group mentoring holds great potential for undergraduate medical education. However, the scientific literature on this genre is sparse. The findings indicate that group mentorship programs benefit from being longitudinal and mandatory. Ideally, they should provide opportunities throughout undergraduate medical education for regular meetings where discussions and personal reflection occur in a supportive environment.

Details

Title
Group mentorship for undergraduate medical students—a systematic review
Author
Skjevik, Elise Pauline 1 ; Boudreau, J. Donald 2 ; Ringberg, Unni 1 ; Schei, Edvin 3 ; Stenfors, Terese 4 ; Kvernenes, Monika 3 ; Ofstad, Eirik H. 5 

 UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway (GRID:grid.10919.30) (ISNI:0000000122595234) 
 McGill University, Institute of Health Sciences Education, Faculty of Medicine, Montreal, Canada (GRID:grid.14709.3b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8649) 
 University of Bergen, Center for Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Bergen, Norway (GRID:grid.7914.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7443) 
 Karolinska Institutet, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics, Stockholm, Sweden (GRID:grid.4714.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1937 0626) 
 UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Institute of Social Medicine, Tromsø, Norway (GRID:grid.10919.30) (ISNI:0000000122595234) 
Pages
272-280
Publication year
2020
Publication date
Oct 2020
Publisher
Ubiquity Press
ISSN
22122761
e-ISSN
2212277X
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2670408009
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.