ABSTRACT
Aims Due to public health measures, such as social distancing, reductions of patient admissions and resulting lack of teaching opportunities, medical students' time spent on, and intensity of, paediatric placements was severely impacted. A mentorship program at Sheffield Children's Hospital (SCH) was developed in response to restrictions to paediatric medical student placements during the first and second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even in the absence of a pandemic, medical students report high levels of apprehension and anxiety around paediatric patient interactions, therefore, the need to supplement student learning, and to offer teaching opportunities, was paramount. The mentorship program was developed, following a needs assessment of medical students on placement, and delivered by volunteer junior doctors. In its pilot version, 28 took part and returned feedback. The feedback was implemented into a revised mentorship program, and delivered to a further two cohorts. Aims 1. Evaluate the acceptability of the revised mentorship program for medical students on paediatric placement. 2. Evaluate the efficacy of the revised mentorship program for medical students on paediatric placement. 3. Assess feasibility to deliver the mentorship program long-term, without the acute Covid-19 context. Methods Between September and November 2021, 24 medical students were on placement at SCH. All students received an email with an allocated mentor, which they were told to contact. The mentorship program follows a clear pro-forma, with the student and mentor meeting a number of times to complete the tasks in the pro-forma [ range of meetings 1-4, depending on availability]. The scheme was also meant to run in January 2022, with 15 students on placement at SCH, however, there were only four volunteer junior doctors, which meant the scheme was unable to run. At the end of the mentorship program, participants (mentors, mentees) completed an online questionnaire to collect feedback, assess acceptability, ascertain efficacy and feasibility of the mentorship program. Results Out of the 24 students, only nine (38%) returned questionnaires at the end of their placement, and only five mentors completed feedback questionnaires. The program was found to have good acceptability, with 78% of students strongly agreeing that it has been beneficial to have a junior doctor as a mentor. The feedback regarding efficacy was mixed, with some students indicating their felt confident in some areas but not others (especially neonatal medicine). Feasibility of delivering this scheme project is dependent on voluntary participation of mentors. Conclusion Due to medical students' apprehension regarding paediatric student placements, and lack of exposure due to Covid-19, this ongoing mentorship seeks to support medical students during this time. Results indicate good acceptability and moderate efficacy. However, the feasibility of the program is dependent on voluntary participation from paediatric trainees. Ongoing high levels of burnout, staffing pressures and lack of organizational structures encouraging mentor-mentee exchanges especially impacted mentor retention and recruitment. Results are limited due to small numbers of returned feedback, despite implementing easier processes of giving feedback for students.