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Table 2 Themes from focus group discussions and key informant interviews with mentees and mentors regarding their experiences and perceptions of the mentorship programme at the School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University

From: Developing mentorship in a resource-limited context: a qualitative research study of the experiences and perceptions of the makerere university student and faculty mentorship programme

Theme

Mentees perceptions

Mentors perceptions

The role of the mentor

• Provides career, academic and personal guidance

• Provides motivation and encouragement to mentee

• Help mentees realize their strengths and minimize weaknesses

• Provides career, academic and personal guidance

• Acts as a role model

• Provides guidance regarding professionalism and ethical issues

Desired characteristics of a mentor and mentoring relationship

• Mutual trust and respect

• Shared interests

• Based on established relationship

• Mutual trust and respect

• Shared interests

• Relationship free of intimidation with mentee feeling empowered

Overlapping roles of mentors and supervisors

• Can lead to conflicts of interest

• Can lead to lack of trust to share non-academic issues

• Potential benefit of shared interest and investment in project

• Can lead to conflicts of interest

Issues of identifying mentors

• Benefits of mentee selecting mentor leading to more successful, authentic and reciprocal mentoring relationship

• Drawbacks of mentee selecting mentor include mentors having too many mentees and mentees may have difficulty identifying a mentor

• Drawback of assigned mentor is that mentees may not be comfortable with the relationship

• Benefits of mentee selecting mentor leading to more successful, authentic and reciprocal mentoring relationship

• Drawbacks of mentee selecting mentor include mentors having too many mentees and mentees may have difficulty identifying a mentor

• Assigned mentoring relationships may be difficult to sustain

Barriers to mentoring

• Lack of knowledge about current mentoring programme

• Lack of formal structure

• Uncertainty about who should initiate relationship

• Unclear roles and expectations

• Lack of mentoring skills

• Lack of knowledge about current mentoring programme

• Lack of formal structure

• Uncertainty about who should initiate relationship

• Unclear roles and expectations

• Lack of designated time for mentoring

• Lack of documentation, feedback and accountability in mentoring

Recommendations for future development of mentoring program

• Need for more formalized programme

• Create shared mentor/mentee understanding and expectations of mentoring

• Need for mentoring model adapted to local context

• Need for more formalized programme

  ◦ College requirements for number of mentoring meetings

  ◦ Assistance with scheduling mentoring meetings

  ◦ Measurable outcomes for mentoring

  ◦ Recognition for mentoring

  ◦ Place where concerns about mentoring can be taken

  ◦ Create shared mentor/mentee understanding and expectations of mentoring

• Need for mentoring model adapted to local context