A Student-Led Surgical Mentorship Program

Abstract

Mentorship carries benefits for surgically inclined students: attraction to and retention in surgical training, improved understanding of surgical career pathways, increased research participation and output, and development of surgical skills. With assistance of surgeons and faculty, a surgical mentorship program for medical students was developed and established by the Sydney University Surgical Society, a student organisation of the University of Sydney, Australia. The program was audited at the end of the calendar year with a non-validated survey of participants, informed further by qualitative participant reports and personal observations of convenors. High program satisfaction rates were found for mentee participants, with flexible and informal mentorship interactions characterising the program. Comparatively lower mentor satisfaction rates and qualitative reports suggest that an initial formalised meeting may improve mentor satisfaction and mentee engagement levels. This article describes the evolution and reflects on key features of a novel student-led surgical mentorship program for medical students. It suggests that with faculty support, student-led mentoring initiatives can be established to achieve the desired outcomes of mentoring and provides guidance to assist establishment of similar programs in the future.