Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Department of Radiology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
J Cancer Educ. 2020 Oct;35(5):893-896. doi: 10.1007/s13187-019-01539-w.
The importance of mentorship in medicine and its impact on academic and professional development has been widely studied. However, mentorship for medical students in the field of radiation oncology is limited. Our radiation oncology department developed a formal medical student mentorship program in 2004. This program included both clinical and research mentoring pathways. Our study aims to gain feedback and perspective from former medical student participants who subsequently entered into a radiation oncology residency program. An anonymous survey was sent to 22 former students in the mentorship program from 2005 to 2016 who entered a radiation oncology residency program. The survey included Likert scales (1-5), multiple choice, strength category rankings, and free responses. Data was compiled and analyzed with Qualtrics data software. The survey response rate was 100%. Seventeen (77.3%) participants reported that the mentorship program strongly affected their career choice and a majority reported that their research experience strongly (45.5%) or moderately affected (31.8%) their career choice. Fourteen (63.6%) respondents reported that the mentorship program was very effective and 8 (36.4%) reported it as being effective. Eighteen (81.8%) respondents reported that mentorship was extremely important to their career. Students participating in the research pathway also reported improvement in valuable skills such as presentations, abstract writing, manuscript writing, statistical analysis, and coordination with colleagues. A total of 66.7% of attending radiation oncologists who previously participated in this program now practice in an academic setting. Our institution successfully developed a formalized mentorship program for medical students interested in radiation oncology. Participants in this program reported high levels of satisfaction and emphasized the importance of mentorship in the development of valuable research competencies and on their overall career path. This program can serve as a model for future mentorship initiative in medical school.
医学领域的指导对学术和专业发展的重要性已得到广泛研究。然而，放射肿瘤学领域的医学生指导却有限。我们的放射肿瘤科于 2004 年制定了一项正式的医学生指导计划，该计划包括临床和研究指导途径。我们的研究旨在从随后进入放射肿瘤学住院医师培训计划的前医学生参与者那里获得反馈和观点。我们向 2005 年至 2016 年期间参加指导计划并进入放射肿瘤学住院医师培训计划的 22 名前学生发送了匿名调查。该调查包括李克特量表（1-5）、多项选择、强度类别排名和自由回答。使用 Qualtrics 数据软件编译和分析数据。调查的回复率为 100％。17 名（77.3％）参与者报告说，指导计划强烈影响了他们的职业选择，大多数人报告说他们的研究经验强烈（45.5％）或适度地影响（31.8％）了他们的职业选择。14 名（63.6％）受访者表示该指导计划非常有效，8 名（36.4％）受访者表示该计划有效。18 名（81.8％）受访者表示指导对他们的职业至关重要。参加研究途径的学生还报告说，他们的演讲、摘要写作、手稿写作、统计分析和与同事协调等有价值的技能得到了提高。共有 66.7％的曾参与该计划的放射肿瘤学主治医生目前在学术环境中执业。我们机构成功为对放射肿瘤学感兴趣的医学生制定了正式的指导计划。参与该计划的学生报告满意度很高，并强调了指导在发展有价值的研究能力和整体职业道路方面的重要性。该计划可以作为医学院未来指导计划的模型。
