Teach the Mentor: A six-session program universally improves mentorship skills among a diverse group of radiology faculty

OBJECTIVE:Determine if a case-based, in-person mentorship teaching program would improve self-reported mentorship skills among a diverse group of faculty members at a large multi-site academic institution. METHODS:All radiology faculty members were recruited to participate in a mentorship course focused on exploring through discussion different challenges posed by mentorship. Participants met weekly for two hours over 6 weeks in an informal and confidential setting. Participants completed the same 19 question survey about mentorship skills before the first session (pre-test) and within one week following the last session (post-test). Respondents rated their abilities with respect to various mentorship skills based on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all skilled) to 7 (highly skilled). Wilcoxon Signed Ranks tests were performed to assess differences in median responses. RESULTS:Eleven faculty completed the course and their survey response rate was 100%. The group was gender balanced (six women and five men) and at varying career stages (4 Professors, 2 Associate Professors, and 5 Assistant Professors). Median score for each of the 19 survey questions significantly improved on the post-test by an average of 2 points, from 4 to 6 (p < .001). For 18 of the 19 questions there was no significant difference in score improvement between Professors and Associate/Assistant Professors. DISCUSSION:By discussing provocative mentorship dilemmas in a confidential small group of peers, radiology faculty with varied experience reported a significant improvement in mentorship skills after six sessions. Further study is needed to assess the long-term impact of the course.