Horner Michelle S, Milam Miller Susan, Rettew David C, Althoff Robert, Ehmann Mary, Hudziak James J, Martin Andrés
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Acad Psychiatry. 2008 Sep-Oct;32(5):420-8. doi: 10.1176/appi.ap.32.5.420.
The authors assess changes in knowledge and feeling connected to the field of child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) after participation in a brief mentoring program held at two CAP conferences.
Similar mentorship programs were implemented at two CAP conferences, one national (N=119 participants), one international (N=53). The 4-day programs were part of larger travel awards, and included daily small group meetings consisting of a mode of two mentors and six participants. The authors created a survey with 40 quantitative questions designed to measure the change in participants' perceptions related to the conference and mentoring program, and provided additional fields for narrative comments.
Mean participant ratings were positive for all questions on the survey. Changes in connectedness were rated higher than those in knowledge. The highest mean ratings were related to feeling more connected to the host organization, to CAP, and to other program participants. Outcomes were similar between the two conferences, except for knowledge gained on research, which was higher among participants in the international meeting. Outcomes were similar across demographic variables, except for internationally trained participants rating higher on research knowledge, connectedness, and overall knowledge. Over 75% of participants felt they made a connection with their mentor, bonded as a group, and learned new things about CAP and the host organization. A qualitative review of comments revealed several themes, including heightened importance of networking, increased awareness of the field, improved connectedness, a desire for trainee-focused events, and mixed feelings about how much structure to provide within the mentorship experience.
A brief group-style mentoring program is logistically feasible within large conferences, and can result in broad positive impact for trainees. Future studies are warranted to determine if these programs have lasting effects on connectedness, career choice, and career development.
作者评估了在参加于两场儿童与青少年精神病学（CAP）会议上举办的简短指导计划后，与儿童和青少年精神病学领域相关的知识变化以及联系感。
在两场CAP会议上实施了类似的指导计划，一场是全国性会议（N = 119名参与者），一场是国际性会议（N = 53名）。为期4天的计划是更大规模旅行奖励的一部分，包括每日由两名导师和六名参与者组成的小组会议。作者创建了一个包含40个定量问题的调查问卷，旨在衡量参与者对会议和指导计划的看法变化，并提供了用于叙述性评论的额外字段。
参与者对调查问卷上的所有问题平均评分均为积极。联系感的变化评分高于知识方面的变化评分。平均评分最高的方面是感觉与主办组织、CAP以及其他项目参与者的联系更为紧密。两场会议的结果相似，但在研究方面获得的知识，国际会议的参与者更高。除了国际培训的参与者在研究知识、联系感和总体知识方面评分更高外，不同人口统计学变量的结果相似。超过75%的参与者认为他们与导师建立了联系，作为一个团体紧密相连，并了解了有关CAP和主办组织的新事物。对评论的定性审查揭示了几个主题，包括人际网络重要性的增强、对该领域认识的提高、联系感的改善、对以学员为中心活动的渴望，以及对指导经验中应提供多少结构的复杂感受。
在大型会议中，简短的小组式指导计划在后勤方面是可行的，并且可以对学员产生广泛的积极影响。有必要进行未来研究，以确定这些计划是否对联系感、职业选择和职业发展产生持久影响。
