Peer Mentoring as a Tool for Developing Soft Skills in Clinical Practice: A 3-Year Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Traditional medical education prioritizes academic and clinical skills.
• Development of personal and interpersonal skills is crucial from early clinical exposure.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of peer mentoring on non-technical skills (NTS) acquisition in third-year medical students.
• To track the progression of NTS in students up to their fifth year.

Main Methods:

• Comparative study involving 276 third and fifth-year medical students.
• Groups included: no NTS training (G1), third-year students mentored in NTS (G2a), and fifth-year peer mentors (G2b).
• Data collected via self-evaluation questionnaires over seven surveys (2015-2018); analyzed using ANOVA and Fisher's post-hoc test.

Main Results:

• Third-year students receiving peer mentoring (G2a) demonstrated improved NTS acquisition over three years.
• Both mentored groups (G2a and G2b) showed statistically significant NTS improvements compared to the non-mentored group (G1).

Conclusions:

• Peer mentoring initiated at the start of clinical practice is a viable strategy for cultivating essential non-technical skills in medical students.
• Integrating NTS training early can enhance overall student competency and patient care.