Effectiveness of Structured Mentor Training on Mentoring Competence in Undergraduate Medical Education: A Quasi-Experimental Study
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Objective: To assess mentors’ baseline competence prior to a mentor training workshop at Wah Medical College and to evaluate changes in overall mentoring proficiency and specific mentor skill domains following the intervention using a self-assessment tool.
Methods: Faculties of Wah Medical College were involved in this quasi-experimental study and 35 numbers of faculty involved in mentoring were included. The intervention included two structured workshops separated over eight weeks, with the support of reflective and self – study phases. The Mentor Competency Assessment tool (MCA-21) was used pre and post the intervention.
Results: The overall mentoring competence was found to significantly increase (p < 0.01) from statistical analysis. The most significant improvements were made in communication, fostering independence and enhancing professional development itself among the six mentoring domains. The findings from these outcomes confirm the value of structured mentor training in faculty development.
Conclusion: Training based on experiential learning, in a structured manner, improves mentoring skill remarkably. To strengthen the quality of mentorship, and ultimately, student outcomes, institutions should be compelled to invest in such faculty development programs.
Article Details
Work published in JPMI is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic License.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
References
1. Mullen CA, Klimaitis CC. Defining mentoring: a literature review of issues, types, and applications. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2021;1483(1):19–35.
2. Straus SE, Johnson MO, Marquez C, Feldman MD. Characteristics of successful and failed mentoring relationships: a qualitative study across two academic health centers. Acad Med. 2013;88(1):82–89.
3. Burgess A, van Diggele C, Mellis C. Mentorship in the health professions: a review. Clin Teach. 2018;15(3):197–202.
4. Wiskur B, Sood A, Myers O, Shore X, Soller B, Mickel N, et al. Perceptions in mentorship: the mentor–mentee competency discrepancy. Chron Mentor Coach. 2024;8(1):178.
5. Vakani FS, Uebel K, Balasooriya C, Demirkol A. The status quo of continuing medical education in South-East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions: a scoping review of 33 countries. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2024;44(1):44–52.
6. Ali S. Student perceptions of mentorship: a comparative study of undergraduate medical and dental students in Islamabad, Pakistan. Ann PIMS-Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Med Univ. 2025;21(2):452–457.
7. Fleming M, Burnham EL, Huskins WC. Mentoring translational science investigators. JAMA. 2012;308(19):1981–1982.
8. Hyun SH, Rogers JG, House SC, Sorkness CA, Pfund C. Revalidation of the mentoring competency assessment to evaluate skills of research mentors: the MCA-21. J Clin Transl Sci. 2022;6(1):e46.
9. Shamim MS. Developing and evaluating an innovative ethics education strategy for undergraduate medical education. Sydney: UNSW Sydney; 2021.
10. Stenfors-Hayes T, Kalén S, Hult H, Dahlgren LO, Hindbeck H, Ponzer S. Being a mentor for undergraduate medical students enhances personal and professional development. Med Teach. 2010;32(2):148–153.
11. Pfund C, Byars-Winston A, Branchaw J, Hurtado S, Eagan K. Defining attributes and metrics of effective research mentoring relationships. AIDS Behav. 2016;20(Suppl 2):238–248.
12. Rubenstein J, Hills T, Morvant A, Flynn E, McPoland P, Stern N. We are the people we have been waiting for. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2025;69(5):e434–e435.
13. Espejo G, Baghoolizadeh M, Cookson C. Growing your own: reflection, support, and connection for developing early career psychiatrists. Acad Psychiatry. 2025. doi:10.1007/s40596-025-02141-7.
14. Marquart R, Sternberg J, Dambrino K, Phillippi D, Savage J, Legge T. Navigating excellence: a comprehensive program evaluation of an academic clinical nurse educator pilot course. 2025.
15. Pfund C, Sanchez-Nieto F, Byars-Winston A, Zárate S, Black S, Birren B, et al. Evaluation of a culturally responsive mentorship education program for advisers of Howard Hughes Medical Institute Gilliam Program graduate students. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2022;21(3):ar50.
16. Tuomikoski AM, Ruotsalainen H, Mikkonen K, Kääriäinen M. Nurses’ experiences of their competence at mentoring nursing students during clinical practice: a systematic review of qualitative studies. Nurse Educ Today. 2020;85:104258.
17. Green C, Brauner D, Lane T, Darlucio J, Peace S. Applying Kolb’s theory of experiential learning in the development of an evidence-based practice and research council at an acute care hospital. SSRN. 2025. doi:10.2139/ssrn.5168456.
18. Goldstein B. Experiential learning as a training model for entrepreneurship educators. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University; 2021.
19. Douglas PS, Batchelor WB, Echols MR, Mitchell S, Walsh MN, Wang TY. Enhancing the clinical research workforce: lessons from the ACC-CTR bootcamp. JACC Adv. 2025;4:101705.
20. Qadid M. Impact of leadership on enhancing patient care in physiotherapy: a systematic review. PhysioPlus Open. 2025;2(1):45–56.
21. Wahid E. Bridging the gap: the need for research mentorship and publication culture in physical therapy education in Pakistan. Khyber Med Univ J. 2025;17(3):377–381.
22. Khan SW, Sajid S, Arshad S, Aziz RS. Perceptions of mentoring among medical students: a qualitative inquiry. Health Prof Educ J. 2025;8(1):40–43.
23. Van Wart A, O’Brien TC, Varvayanis S, Alder J, Greenier J, Layton RL, et al. Applying experiential learning to career development training for biomedical graduate students and postdocs: perspectives on program development and design. CBE Life Sci Educ. 2020;19(3):es7.