Mentorship in orthopaedic and trauma residency training programme in Nigeria: the residents' perspective

Mentorship is important in residency training as it is necessary for personal and professional development of the resident trainees.

This study documents mentorship in orthopaedic residency training programme in Nigeria by assessing the awareness of orthopaedic residents on the role of a mentor, willingness to be mentored and their perceived reasons for the possible lack of mentors/ participation of senior colleagues in a mentorship programme.

This was a descriptive cross sectional study of 37 orthopaedic residents attending a revision course of the Faculty of Orthopaedics, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria. Self-administered structured questionnaires were used to collect data. Data obtained was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0.

The mean age of the respondent was 34.7 ± 4.7 years. The Male: Female ratio was 19:1. The average number of years already spent in the residency programme by the respondents was 2.8 ± 0.9 years. Only 27% of residents had participated in a mentorship programme since they began residency programme but only half were still being mentored at the time of the study. Sixty-five percent reported no formal mentorship programme in their institutions. However, 73% of the respondents would want a formal mentorship programme in their institution. Ninety percent of the respondents desired to be mentored.

Most residents are willing to be mentored. Consultants and trainers should ensure that the trainees are mentored.