Insights
Developing mentoring skills as a student Danielle Nimmons School of Medicine, University of Manchester, UK My own background has made me an advocate of WP
M
entorship is essential for the development of good doctors.1 Undergraduates are often mentees, guided by more experienced individuals who facilitate learning and personal and professional development. Mentorship has been defined as a process where two or more individuals work together to develop the career and abilities of a single individual.2 Manchester Medical School (MMS) encourages medical students to take on a mentorship role towards prospective students on its widening participation (WP) schemes. As an undergraduate I was involved with mentoring students from a WP background that are from under-represented groups at the university. These opportunities have been satisfying and have helped in attaining my career goals (e.g. they were a key element of my successful
application for the medical education Academic Foundation Programme that I recently started). My own background has made me an advocate of WP, coming from a comprehensive state secondary school and having a non-medical background. At MMS, this involved my working with young people from groups under-represented at the university, particularly in encouraging entry into medicine, a career few from these backgrounds may have otherwise considered. Using medical students as mentors in WP activities has been seen as valuable,3 and MMS allows student mentors a broad scope, within its frameworks, to tailor mentoring activities to mentees. My own experience over 4 years of mentoring WP students, often working for 8 months or more
with individual students, has given me an insight into the issues facing these 15–17 year olds, and has ultimately helped me influence the WP agenda of my medical school. Most importantly I found these experiences enjoyable, working within unique and somewhat maternal relationships to help mentees achieve the best that they possibly could. At times this has led to experiencing negative feelings, such as frustration over a lack of progress and concern that a student has become over-dependent, experiences reported by others in this setting.1,4 Although this can take its toll, it has made me appreciate the value of having clear action plans and short-term objectives in working towards complex and apparently unachievable personal goals.
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Personal feedback from mentees and evaluation questionnaires showed that in many cases I directly facilitated students getting into medicine who had little support from elsewhere. This was achieved by providing motivation, support, advice and information, which was both incredibly rewarding and personally satisfying. In my course I have been enabled to undertake research in the form of focus groups that showed that this mentoring has given these students confidence in their own abilities and that medicine is a realistic career, which I consider evidence of the value of the personal mentorship style facilitated at MMS by myself and other student mentors. Moreover, I believe mentoring has given me new and improved skills that are useful to a doctor, particularly one interested in clinical education, through practising planning and delivering teaching, and also in the design and use of questionnaires in evaluating the evidence base of educational activities. I feel it has also made me more selfcritical and has given me a better understanding of safeguarding and issues that can arise using
social networks, an issue of considerable importance in education today.5 It has therefore taught me the value of a clear perspective on relationships with students and the importance of defining boundaries. Also, as it was undertaken as an extracurricular activity, it has strengthened my time-management skills. Latterly I have been permitted to manage a mentoring scheme for aspiring medical students from WP backgrounds, which has developed my leadership skills, an important quality that I feel doctors should possess. Over a 2–year period, evaluation questionnaires showed that a third of mentees who completed the scheme successfully entered medical school and a further third had at least one interview. This, I believe, illustrates the success of the scheme under my direction. Mentoring also provided me with a deeper understanding of the mentee–mentor relationship, which has been reflected in the relationships that I have had with my own mentors. These mentors have provided advice, support and constructive feedback over the years that improved my motivation and helped me to achieve far more than I expected. This included obtaining
a distinction in my intercalated master’s degree and giving international presentations, demonstrating how essential mentee–mentor relationships are for career success.1 To conclude, I have discovered that given the right environment there are many benefits from mentoring WP students. It has helped the students and it has also helped me. I have realised the gains for both parties in a mentoring relationship, and been enabled to grow both personally and professionally.
[Mentoring] has taught me the value of a clear perspective on relationships with students
REFERENCES 1.
Taherian K, Shekarchian M. Mentoring for doctors. Do its benefits outweigh its disadvantages? Med Teach 2008;30:95–99.
2.
Goodyear M. Mentoring: A Learning Collaboration. EDUCAUSE Review 2006;29:51–53.
3.
Medical Schools Council. Selecting for Excellence, 2013 End of Year Report. London: Medical Schools Council; 2013.
4.
Wright CA, Wright SD. The role of mentors in the career development of young professionals. Family Relations 1987;36:204–208.
5.
Schurgin O’Keeffe G, Clarke-Pearson K. The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics 2011;127:800–804.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Danielle L Nimmons, North Manchester General Hospital, Delaunays Road, Manchester, M8 5RB, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: None. Conflict of interest: None. Acknowledgement: None. Ethical approval: No ethical approval was required for this article. doi: 10.1111/tct.12339
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2016; 13: 72–73 73
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Developing mentoring skills as a student Danielle Nimmons School of Medicine, University of Manchester, UK My own background has made me an advocate of WP
M
entorship is essential for the development of good doctors.1 Undergraduates are often mentees, guided by more experienced individuals who facilitate learning and personal and professional development. Mentorship has been defined as a process where two or more individuals work together to develop the career and abilities of a single individual.2 Manchester Medical School (MMS) encourages medical students to take on a mentorship role towards prospective students on its widening participation (WP) schemes. As an undergraduate I was involved with mentoring students from a WP background that are from under-represented groups at the university. These opportunities have been satisfying and have helped in attaining my career goals (e.g. they were a key element of my successful
application for the medical education Academic Foundation Programme that I recently started). My own background has made me an advocate of WP, coming from a comprehensive state secondary school and having a non-medical background. At MMS, this involved my working with young people from groups under-represented at the university, particularly in encouraging entry into medicine, a career few from these backgrounds may have otherwise considered. Using medical students as mentors in WP activities has been seen as valuable,3 and MMS allows student mentors a broad scope, within its frameworks, to tailor mentoring activities to mentees. My own experience over 4 years of mentoring WP students, often working for 8 months or more
with individual students, has given me an insight into the issues facing these 15–17 year olds, and has ultimately helped me influence the WP agenda of my medical school. Most importantly I found these experiences enjoyable, working within unique and somewhat maternal relationships to help mentees achieve the best that they possibly could. At times this has led to experiencing negative feelings, such as frustration over a lack of progress and concern that a student has become over-dependent, experiences reported by others in this setting.1,4 Although this can take its toll, it has made me appreciate the value of having clear action plans and short-term objectives in working towards complex and apparently unachievable personal goals.
72 © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2016; 13: 72–73
tct_12339.indd 72
1/14/2016 11:37:22 AM
Personal feedback from mentees and evaluation questionnaires showed that in many cases I directly facilitated students getting into medicine who had little support from elsewhere. This was achieved by providing motivation, support, advice and information, which was both incredibly rewarding and personally satisfying. In my course I have been enabled to undertake research in the form of focus groups that showed that this mentoring has given these students confidence in their own abilities and that medicine is a realistic career, which I consider evidence of the value of the personal mentorship style facilitated at MMS by myself and other student mentors. Moreover, I believe mentoring has given me new and improved skills that are useful to a doctor, particularly one interested in clinical education, through practising planning and delivering teaching, and also in the design and use of questionnaires in evaluating the evidence base of educational activities. I feel it has also made me more selfcritical and has given me a better understanding of safeguarding and issues that can arise using
social networks, an issue of considerable importance in education today.5 It has therefore taught me the value of a clear perspective on relationships with students and the importance of defining boundaries. Also, as it was undertaken as an extracurricular activity, it has strengthened my time-management skills. Latterly I have been permitted to manage a mentoring scheme for aspiring medical students from WP backgrounds, which has developed my leadership skills, an important quality that I feel doctors should possess. Over a 2–year period, evaluation questionnaires showed that a third of mentees who completed the scheme successfully entered medical school and a further third had at least one interview. This, I believe, illustrates the success of the scheme under my direction. Mentoring also provided me with a deeper understanding of the mentee–mentor relationship, which has been reflected in the relationships that I have had with my own mentors. These mentors have provided advice, support and constructive feedback over the years that improved my motivation and helped me to achieve far more than I expected. This included obtaining
a distinction in my intercalated master’s degree and giving international presentations, demonstrating how essential mentee–mentor relationships are for career success.1 To conclude, I have discovered that given the right environment there are many benefits from mentoring WP students. It has helped the students and it has also helped me. I have realised the gains for both parties in a mentoring relationship, and been enabled to grow both personally and professionally.
[Mentoring] has taught me the value of a clear perspective on relationships with students
REFERENCES 1.
Taherian K, Shekarchian M. Mentoring for doctors. Do its benefits outweigh its disadvantages? Med Teach 2008;30:95–99.
2.
Goodyear M. Mentoring: A Learning Collaboration. EDUCAUSE Review 2006;29:51–53.
3.
Medical Schools Council. Selecting for Excellence, 2013 End of Year Report. London: Medical Schools Council; 2013.
4.
Wright CA, Wright SD. The role of mentors in the career development of young professionals. Family Relations 1987;36:204–208.
5.
Schurgin O’Keeffe G, Clarke-Pearson K. The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. Pediatrics 2011;127:800–804.
Corresponding author’s contact details: Danielle L Nimmons, North Manchester General Hospital, Delaunays Road, Manchester, M8 5RB, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Funding: None. Conflict of interest: None. Acknowledgement: None. Ethical approval: No ethical approval was required for this article. doi: 10.1111/tct.12339
© 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. THE CLINICAL TEACHER 2016; 13: 72–73 73
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1/14/2016 11:37:24 AM
