How much is enough? The Impact of Training Dosage and Previous Mentoring Experience on the Effectiveness of a Research Mentor Training Intervention

Research mentor training based on curricula in the Entering Mentoring series has been shown to increase mentoring skills and influence changes in the mentoring practices of researchers across disciplines and career stages. However, little is known about how variations in implementation approaches, such as the dosage of training and prior mentoring experience, impact intervention outcomes. This study analyzed data from 410 participants across 31 research mentor training implementations ranging from one to ten hours in duration. Research mentor training participants reported significant post-training gains in mentoring skills and overall quality of mentoring regardless of training dosage and mentoring experience, suggesting that the intervention is effective in multiple formats and contexts. Further, the majority of participants across all implementations reported intentions to make changes in their mentoring practices. Participants reporting the greatest gains had less mentoring experience at the time of training and attended training at least 4 hours in length. Implications for training program directors are discussed.