Knowing Me Knowing You—Mentorship in Hospital Placement

BACKGROUND: Despite junior doctors' pivotal role as primary contacts for students in clinical placements, they are typically offered minimal or no mentor training, and their knowledge about how to facilitate student learning remains experience-based. We developed a co-mentoring program where junior doctors were offered training focused on student learning and agency, near-peer support and the promotion of psychological safety. METHODS: To evaluate the intervention, we collected qualitative data using interviews, e-mail prompts and a focus group among 13 junior doctors across four cohorts of mentor training. No baseline data were included. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The research aimed to explore the junior doctors' experiences of transitioning from an unclear supervisory role to a defined mentor role with a relational focus. RESULTS: Mentors felt that they were making a significant difference to the students' learning and that focusing on relationship building and belonging enabled entrustment. Furthermore, mentoring was demystified after the training regime. Finally, the concept of collective responsibility throughout the medical department emerged as a crucial element in the mentoring dynamic. DISCUSSION: Respondents suggested that the intervention had shifted their attitudes: Participants realized that establishing contact and actively collaborating with the students, also beyond the mentor's primary team, were beneficial for both students and mentors without demanding additional sacrifices of time or energy. However, the initiative did not manage to change organizational structures or create motivation in mentors to pursue further pedagogic development, underscoring the need to address structural barriers and promote a growth-oriented mindset among mentors.