Mentoring experience in medical residency: challenges and experiences

Abstract: Introduction: Medical residency represents a challenging moment, with a high level of demand and the need to develop several personal and professional skills. Therefore, in April 2019, the unprecedented mentoring program for thirty internal medicine residents was implemented, seeking to offer personal support and encourage professional development. Experience Report: A mentoring program was structured in April 2019, lasting 11 months, consisting of 30 internal medicine residents and 6 mentors with experience in clinical preceptorship, covering topics that are not usually discussed in the training of these specialists, such as professionalism, empathy, burnout and quality of life, time management, conflict management and role-model. The meetings took place monthly, in a location defined by the group. After the end of the activity, an opinion poll was conducted using a standardized questionnaire with answers arranged on a Likert scale to assess the relevance of the discussed topics and the impact on the medical residents’ practice. A 90% response rate was obtained, highlighting the relevance of the topic Burnout and quality of life and empathy. A total of 96.3% of residents stated that the program changed their mind about their professional behavior. They declared that mentoring “opened their mind about the diversity of opinions, allowing personal and professional growth” and that “to manage time, conflicts, burnout are present in our daily lives and are also part of the medicine we practice”. However, there were complaints about some difficulties among the group members to define the time and day when the meetings should be held. In summary, the activity had a positive evaluation from the mentees. Discussion: There is a positive impact of the mentoring program on the training of a resident doctor, improving self-confidence and having a positive impact on the professional career despite the faced difficulties. Mentoring also serves as a psychosocial support, creating free access between the resident and the preceptor, culminating, based on our evaluation, in an excellent relationship between mentors and mentees. Conclusion: In Ceara, the mentoring program for internal medicine residents was unprecedented. There is a positive effect, in which important topics were discussed in more depth, with greater personal and professional growth. We suggest that mentoring be maintained and included as an essential activity in the curriculum of Medical Residency Programs.