Abernethy A D
Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California 91101, USA.
Acad Med. 1999 Apr;74(4):356-9. doi: 10.1097/00001888-199904000-00023.
Mentoring underrepresented-minority (URM) students poses a special challenge because most medical schools have few URM faculty and many non-URM faculty hesitate to be mentors for URM students. Some medical students perform less well in the clinical years than would be expected from their pre-clinical performances. One factor is some students' difficulty in adapting to the culture of medicine, which mentors can help students overcome. The University of Rochester School of Medicine created the Medical Student Mentoring Program to address the needs of URM students and non-URM faculty who could be mentors. The program, offered in 1995-96 and 1996-97, trained mentors, created a bicultural support group for URM students, and provided structured mentoring. Interviews were conducted with faculty and students to identify critical areas that influence the success of URM students in their clinical years; URM faculty, residents, and advanced students shared their experiences with the program students at reflection group meetings. Mentors participated in an initial orientation. Of the 42 students eligible during 1995-1997, 30 participated and were assigned to 15 mentors. At the end of the program's first year, the students and mentors gave their reactions, and although there were some differences in their viewpoints, overall they considered the program useful. Non-URM faculty appreciated the support and guidance that allowed them to mentor URM students more effectively. The program ran formally for two years, and some of the mentoring relationships continued into the third year. Loss of funding and change in administrative leadership contributed to the ending of this program. Mentoring continues to be a priority at the medical center, and a new mentoring program has been developed for URM and non-URM medical students.
指导少数族裔（URM）学生面临着特殊的挑战，因为大多数医学院校中少数族裔教员较少，而且许多非少数族裔教员不愿担任URM学生的导师。一些医学生在临床阶段的表现不如临床前阶段预期的那样好。一个因素是一些学生难以适应医学文化，而导师可以帮助学生克服这一困难。罗切斯特大学医学院创建了医学生指导项目，以满足URM学生以及可能成为导师的非URM教员的需求。该项目在1995 - 1996年和1996 - 1997年开展，培训导师，为URM学生创建了一个双文化支持小组，并提供结构化指导。对教员和学生进行了访谈，以确定影响URM学生临床阶段成功的关键领域；少数族裔教员、住院医师和高年级学生在反思小组会议上与项目学生分享了他们的经验。导师参加了初始培训。在1995 - 1997年符合条件的42名学生中，30名参加了该项目，并被分配给15名导师。在项目第一年结束时，学生和导师给出了他们的反馈，尽管他们的观点存在一些差异，但总体上他们认为该项目是有用的。非少数族裔教员赞赏所提供的支持和指导，这使他们能够更有效地指导URM学生。该项目正式运行了两年，一些指导关系持续到了第三年。资金流失和行政领导的变动导致了该项目的结束。指导在医疗中心仍然是一个优先事项，并且已经为URM和非URM医学生开发了一个新的指导项目。
