ABSTRACT
Background: Mentorship is useful in enhancing student learning experiences. The provision of feedback by faculty mentors is a central activity within a fruitful mentorship relationship. Therefore, effective feedback delivery by mentors is key to the development of successful mentorship relationships. Mentorship is a social interactive relationship between mentors and mentees. Therefore, activity theory, a sociocultural theory, has been applied in this study to develop a framework for feedback delivery within the mentorship educational alliance between mentors and mentees. Objective: The purpose of the study was to explore experiences of students and faculty mentors regarding feedback in a mentorship relationship, and to develop a feedback delivery framework in a mentorship relationship underpinned by activity theory. Methods: This was a mixed-method sequential study conducted at Makerere University College of Health Sciences using both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The study involved undergraduate medical students and faculty mentors. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, focus group discussions and interviews. Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data, while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. Results: Most students reported negative experiences with feedback received during the mentorship process. Of the total of 150, a significant number of students (n=60) reported receiving no feedback at all from their mentors. One hundred students reported that feedback received from mentors focused on only weaknesses, and 80 reported that the feedback was not timely. A total of 130 students reported that the feedback sessions were a one-way process, with limited involvement of mentees. The feedback also tended to focus on academics, with limited emphasis on psychosocial contextual aspects that may potentially influence student learning. The focus group discussions with students confirmed most of the quantitative findings. The interviews with faculty mentors led to the emergence of two key themes, namely: (i) limited understanding of feedback delivery during mentorship; and (ii) need for feedback guidelines for faculty mentors. Based on the findings of the mixed-method study as well as the theory guiding the study, a feedback framework for mentorship interactions has been suggested. Conclusion: While students generally reported low satisfaction with feedback received from mentors, faculty suggested the need to have feedback guidelines for mentors to frame their feedback during mentorship interactions. A feedback framework to guide mentorship interactions has therefore been suggested as a result of this study, guided by principles of activity theory.
ABSTRACT
Background: The assessment tool for registered comprehensive nursing was introduced in nursing education in Uganda in 2005 with the main purpose of facilitating nurse mentors to easily assess the clinical competency of student nurses. The tool contributes to the formative and summative assessment of students. Despite continued use of the assessment tool over the years, no study has been conducted to explore the perceptions of nurse mentors and students regarding its use. Objective: To explore the experiences of nursing students and their mentors regarding the clinical competence assessment tool. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study design was used. The study was conducted at Masaka School of Comprehensive Nursing in Uganda. The participants included 48 final-year nursing students and 5 nurse/midwifery mentors. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants. Data were collected using 6 focus group discussions with students and 5 key informant interviews with mentors, and thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Results: From the responses, the participants generally had mixed experiences of the tool and suggestions were put forward for improvement. Five major themes emerged from student responses: (i) the orientation process; (ii) using the assessment tool; (iii) strengths of the assessment tool; (iv) challenges with the assessment tool; and (v) suggestions for improvement. The nurse mentors generally corroborated what the students reported, i.e. that the tool had challenges when one assesses student performance and gives feedback. Conclusion: The participants reported satisfaction with the design of the assessment tool. However, some challenges were identified regarding its implementation by students and mentors. Key among these were the failure to have immediate assessment and feedback to students. Findings from the study could offer insights on how the tool could be improved.
