Intensive medical student support groups: format, outcome, and leadership guidelines

The authors report on a five-year experience with process-oriented discussion groups at annual four-day, off-campus retreats attended by students, faculty members, and "significant others." Group sessions comprised 17 hours of each retreat, which also included community activities and recreation time. Group leaders represented a diversity of professional backgrounds. In response to questionnaires sent from one to two months after the retreats, participants rated group experiences highly, although they also considered a significant amount of time for unstructured interpersonal interaction and recreation important. Participants enjoyed meeting students and faculty members in a relatively "role-free" setting, and students derived an enhanced sense of self-awareness from group discussions. The most highly valued group leader behaviors were participation as a group member, facilitation of interpersonal communication, and attention to group members' needs. Guidance and direction by the leaders were also considered valuable, provided that they did not impose inappropriate expectations on their groups.