Implementation of a Mentoring Program for Mentee-Mentor Satisfaction: A Longitudinal Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Workplace Psychology
• Professional Development

Background:

• Mentoring is a crucial workplace relationship supporting professional and personal growth.
• Formal mentoring programs can enhance skill, knowledge, and emotional well-being for both mentees and mentors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and assess the impact of a formal mentoring program on mentee and mentor satisfaction.
• To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a structured mentoring initiative in a hospital setting.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal pilot study conducted in two New South Wales hospitals.
• Junior doctors (mentees) and senior medical staff (mentors) completed pre-, mid-, and post-program surveys.
• Statistical analysis included mixed-effects ordinal logistic regression and Fisher's exact test.

Main Results:

• Upward trends in mentee and mentor satisfaction were observed but were not statistically significant.
• High participation rates indicated strong program acceptability and feasibility.
• The program showed potential influence on participants' work satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• The formal mentoring program demonstrated potential to improve participant satisfaction, despite non-significant findings.
• Larger sample sizes are recommended for future studies to achieve sufficient statistical power.
• Multi-site randomized controlled trials are suggested to further explore causality.