Mentoring for doctors is patchy, says BMA, UK
A report from the BMA's Board of Medical Education says that mentoring programmes - whereby a doctor is guided by an experienced colleague - have huge benefits for the NHS. But when it surveyed postgraduate deaneries to evaluate the availability of mentoring, the Association received markedly different responses - some ran no formal programmes at all while others provided comprehensive schemes.*
Research has suggested that more widespread use of mentoring would encourage doctors who have left the NHS to return.** It can also be an effective means of tackling discrimination and empowering groups who are sometimes marginalised in the medical profession, such as refugee doctors, the BMA report, Exploring Mentoring, says.
However, the BMA's survey shows that although there are many ad hoc mentoring programmes, they are often not centrally co-ordinated by deaneries. It is also unclear how many doctors participate in programmes, and the report says they should be better targeted and marketed. Doctors need to be made aware of the schemes, and about their potential contribution as both mentors and mentees.
Commenting on Exploring Mentoring Dr Peter Dangerfield, chairman of the BMA's Board of Medical Education, says: "Having someone experienced to guide you through your career can have a tremendous effect on your morale and confidence. By ensuring that doctors have access to mentoring schemes - and know about them - trusts and deaneries could do a huge amount to encourage recruitment to the NHS. It would be a shame if the benefits offered by mentoring schemes were lost because no-one knew about them."
The report states that:
-- Mentoring should be available to all medical students
-- A wider range of information about the benefits of mentoring should be offered to doctors
-- Mentoring schemes need to be improved, based on feedback and monitoring
-- Mentoring should be encouraged through structured and flexible frameworks
-- Specific programmes need to better targeted
Ends
Notes to editors
Click here to view Exploring Mentoring:
http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/Mentoring
* The BMA contacted 25 postgraduate deaneries and received responses from 14 (a response rate of 56%).
** 'Why do doctors leave the profession?', BMA, 2004 :
http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/retention
Mentoring pentru medici este neuniform, spune BMA, Marea Britanie - Mentoring for doctors is patchy, says BMA, UK - articole medicale engleza - startsanatate