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Small Group Mentoring in Breast Radiology-Key Benefits of a Topic-Based Approach: A Pilot Program from the Society of
Robert J Weinfurtner1, Stefanie Woodard2, Kathy M Borovicka3
1Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA.
Objective:
Small, topic-based mentorship groups, an alternative to one-on-one mentoring, were piloted by the Society of Breast Imaging's (SBI) Mentorship Committee (MC). This study reports the pilot program's logistics and perceived effectiveness based on participant surveys.
Methods:
The MC selected six mentorship topics: Fellowship Directors, Division Chiefs, Financial Literacy, Scholarship, Early Career Faculty, and Early Career Trainees. Groups were comprised of mentees, mentors, and a facilitator from the MC. Emails to SBI membership recruited participants in July 2024. Subsequently, quarterly one-hour virtual meetings were arranged by facilitators. A final survey to assess the program was distributed August 11, 2025 to September 22, 2025. Comparisons were analyzed using unpaired t-test, with P < 0.05 considered statistically significant.
Results:
The pilot program involved 48 mentees, 11 mentors, and 6 facilitators. Of these, 66% (42/64) responded to the survey. Among respondents, 93% (39/42) attended at least two meetings and 64% (27/42) attended all four. When asked to rate the program on a 1-10 scale (10 = "extremely valuable"), the average response was 9.03 with mentees rating it higher than mentors (9.46 vs 7.53, P = 0.004). Likert scale average responses (1-5 with 5 = "strongly agree") were closest to "strongly agree" for most questions (total average 4.6/5, range 4.38-4.8). For 41% (17/41) of respondents, the program was their only current mentoring relationship. In addition, 38% (15/40) indicated that the program led them to seek additional mentoring opportunities.
Conclusion:
The SBI Topic-Based Small Group Mentoring pilot effectively met the needs of most respondents, supporting its establishment as a sustained program for improving mentorship within the SBI community.
