RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Mentorship is an important aspect of medical education in providing students guidance and connections to new opportunities, ultimately leading to increased productivity and career satisfaction. The purpose of this study was to design and implement a formal mentoring program between medical students participating in their orthopedic surgery rotation and orthopedic residents to determine if this relationship improved students' experiences during their rotation compared to students who were not mentored. DESIGN: Third- and fourth-year medical students rotating in orthopedic surgery and PGY2-PGY5 orthopedic residents at one institution were eligible to participate in a voluntary mentoring program between the months of July and February during 2016 to 2019. Students were either randomly paired with a resident mentor (experimental group) or not (unmentored control group). Anonymous surveys were distributed to participants at weeks 1 and 4 of their rotation. There were no minimum number of meetings required between mentors and mentees. RESULTS: Twenty-seven students (18 mentored, 9 unmentored) and 12 residents completed surveys during week 1. Fifteen students (11 mentored, 4 unmentored) and 8 residents completed surveys during week 4. While both mentored and unmentored students experienced an increase in enjoyment, satisfaction, and level of comfort at week 4 compared to week 1, the unmentored group demonstrated a greater overall increase. However, from the perspective of the residents, excitement for the mentoring program and the perceived value of mentoring decreased and 1 (12.5%) resident felt that it detracted from their clinical responsibilities. CONCLUSION: While formal mentoring enhanced the experience of medical students on orthopedic surgery rotations, it did not substantially improve medical student perceptions when compared to students who did not receive formal mentoring. The greater satisfaction and enjoyment observed in the unmentored group may be explained by informal mentoring that naturally occurs among students and residents with similar interests and goals.
