P400 The first reverse mentoring in a clinical setting: can you teach old dogs new tricks?

Background The BSG offers a mentorship programme aimed at those in transitional phases of their career and less at experienced consultants. Reverse mentoring, the act of junior persons mentoring seniors, has gained traction in non-healthcare settings as a means of closing the gap between Boomers and Millennials. There is no data on applying this to a medical workforce. We present the first data of real clinical experience. Methods A mixed-methods feasibility study on the practicalities of reverse mentoring complete in two phases. Phase 1: all clinical fellows in a teaching hospital were invited to provide feedback in a group semi structured interview on their supervisors in 7 domains: use of technology, clinical practice, approach to juniors, time management, approachability, strengths and areas for improvement. Phase 2: information was fed back to consultants on a 1-2-1 basis with the opportunity to discuss the points raised. Pre and post mentoring questionnaires were collected. Likert scales were used to assess several aspects on a scale from 0 to 35 and thematic analysis to record participants thoughts. Results A total of 6 clinical fellows participated in the phase 1 feedback session (66.6% male, age range 31–40 years) and agreed to be mentors. All supervising consultants invited agreed to being mentees (80% male, age range 35–65 years) and have been consultants for 5–20 years. Mentoring sessions lasted 45 minutes (range 28–180 minutes) and all felt the time devoted was about right. Both mentors and mentees reported a good or excellent experience. Juniors became more confident in feeding back to seniors after the session (21vs 31, p=0.008) and had a greater understanding of their role as reverse mentors (2.5/5 vs 4/5, p=0.024). Seniors became more aware of how they were viewed after mentoring (25vs 32, p=0.04). All seniors felt this was a useful experience that will change their clinical practice and 80% reported less concern about reverse mentoring afterwards. All participants believed that feedback was important both prior to and after the study (31 vs 33, p=0.196) Common themes highlighted included the benefit of a different perspective to the norm and new ideas which can be implemented. There were concerns raised of the power gradient preventing effective mentoring and risks to relationships, however these were expressed as potential concerns and not experienced. Conclusion The experience of all participants in this feasibility study were positive supporting the benefits of reverse mentoring in a healthcare setting. Junior doctors became better equipped to be future mentors. Consultants were given a new perspective which inspired them to improve their clinical practice and work environment.