SHM Converge Scientific Abstract ePoster Gallery-Measuring and Improving Mentorship for Equity: A Human Centered Design Project in Medical Education

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This project examined mentorship and sponsorship in medical education using human-centered design methods to better understand how faculty experience, value, and access mentorship. The authors noted that mentorship is essential for academic medicine but is often not formally taught, evaluated, or supported by institutions.<br /><br />Over six months, the team collected mixed-methods data through a 36-item survey, interviews with local faculty, students, residents, and administrators, plus panel interviews with 14 nationally recognized physician leaders. They received 10 survey responses, conducted 12 faculty interviews, and identified themes about barriers and opportunities for mentorship.<br /><br />Key findings included:<br />- Mentorship options for faculty were limited; 28% of faculty mentors reported having no mentor themselves.<br />- Female faculty had fewer personal mentors on average than male colleagues.<br />- Major barriers to effective mentorship included high mentee-to-mentor ratios, faculty burnout, and lack of protected time.<br />- Despite these barriers, faculty universally recognized the value of mentorship and wanted more personal mentorship for their own professional growth and academic success.<br /><br />The study concluded that institutions should actively train faculty in mentorship skills and provide institutional support for personal mentorship, especially if they want to improve mentorship for residents and students. Although the demographic and survey results were not statistically significant, they suggested possible inequities in access to mentorship. The authors emphasize that improving mentorship requires both individual skill-building and organizational responsibility, including time, structure, and recognition for those who mentor others.

Asset Subtitle

Ariail G. Schmitz

Meta Tag

Author List Amith Skandhan, Ariail G. Schmitz, Meghana Gadgil, Sasha-Kay A. d'Aguilar

Category Innovations

Concept Mentorship

Concept Sponsorship

Concept Mentor Training

Concept Medical Education

Concept Faculty Development

Distinguished Non-Finalist

Presenter Organization Southeast Health

Presenting Author Ariail G. Schmitz

Track Education

Keywords

mentorship

sponsorship

medical education

academic medicine

faculty development

human-centered design

mixed-methods study

faculty burnout

protected time

institutional support

Mentorship

Sponsorship

Mentor Training

Medical Education

Faculty Development