30 Creation of a near-peer mentorship programme to improve support for new doctors

Background Transition from medical student to FY1 (Foundation Year 1) doctor is often challenging. 1 2 New doctors commonly feel stressed and unsupported. 3 4 A near-peer mentorship scheme for FY doctors was piloted in NHS Lothian, aiming to provide support during this period of professional transition. Methods 190 FY doctors volunteered to participate (n=190) for one year. 95 FY1-FY2 dyads were assigned by the investigators according to relevant job experience. Pairs were encouraged to communicate informally as well as meet once per four-month rotation. Each dyad was asked to complete a paired learning agreement. Feedback was sought from participants at the start, end of rotation one, and end of year. Results Reasons given by FY1s for participating centred on gaining support (20), advice (24) and insight from someone with recent experience (11). FY2s participated to help support colleagues (61), because they wished they had a mentor themselves (28), and due to interest in leadership and teaching (17). Rate of response to end of year feedback was 32/95 FY1s, 65/95 FY2s. 98% of feedback respondents reported making contact with their partner, and 82% met their partner in person. Major barriers to meeting included scheduling/rota conflicts and locational differences. Respondents felt peer mentors fulfilled a different role to the educational supervisor. FY1s overall felt more likely to turn to their mentor than educational supervisor for personal welfare support. 94% of respondents reported that having both peer mentor and educational supervisor was beneficial (29/32 FY1s; 62/65 FY2s). At the end of the year, 84.4% of responding FY1s felt ‘having a peer mentor helped [them] feel supported in the transition from medical student to FY1.’ 99% of feedback respondents felt the programme should continue. Conclusions Near-peer mentorship enhances support for FY1 doctors. The programme was widely accepted and received positive reviews from participants. References Goodyear H. First year doctors experience of work related wellbeing and implications for educational provision. International Journal of Medical Education 2014:103–109. Brennan N. The transition from medical student to junior doctor: Today’s experiences of Tomorrow’s Doctors. Medical Education 2010:449–458. Kellett J. The preparedness of newly qualified doctors – Views of Foundation doctors and supervisors. Medical Teacher 2015:949–954. Collier VU. Stress in medical residency: Status quo after a decade of reform? Annals of Internal Medicine 2002:384–90.