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Tasmanian University Medical Students Society student mentor scheme: a model to help students in distress

Lisa M Barrow
Med J Aust 2002; 177 (1): S12. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2002.tb04617.x
Published online: 1 July 2002
Problems with the group format

The most recent format — groups of one doctor and six students — did not meet these aims as successfully as hoped and many of these groups eventually foundered. Participant representatives of each group in the scheme were contacted and feedback was sought on their experiences. Some of the reasons given for the scheme's shortcomings were:

  • The long-term commitment demanded of doctors by the continuous replacement of final-year students with first-year students gave no natural break point for mentors to "bow out gracefully".

  • The model, being predominantly face-to-face, was not practical in the fifth and sixth years of the course, when students study in remote parts of the State. This made it very difficult for them to maintain their involvement with a group.

  • While the group model was good for networking, it could also be restrictive for those unwilling to raise issues in a group setting. Some students indicated that they did not feel they could contact the mentor for a one-to-one meeting because the scheme was defined as a group event.

  • Consistent contact was not maintained with each group and no central point of leadership existed to motivate the groups, or assist in resolving problems within groups.

  • Group members were selected by a third party and demographic characteristics were used to match members. However, this system was not always as successful as hoped in finding compatible group members and mentors.

  • Entry was limited to the start of the year, when students did not feel they had any problems. Later in the year, when they were confronting problems, students had to single themselves out to gain entry to the scheme, and often had to join established and even full groups.

In summary, anecdotal evidence indicated that the scheme was a good opportunity for networking, but the number of people to network with was limited. Furthermore, the scheme provided limited scope for linking students with a suitable mentor to help them cope with a particular difficulty they were experiencing at the time. The result was that the scheme could do little to address the needs of the handful of students who were lost from the course each year for want of appropriate support.

Current direction of the scheme

It was decided that this gap in student support could best be met through a model based on the Tasmanian Doctors' Health Advisory Service. Ailing students will be linked with appropriate clinicians, primarily via a web-based referral system. This system will enable "mentors" with an interest in student health to be drawn from a relevant specialty for a specified period of time on an "as-needed" basis, with confidentiality maintained.

The proposed changes to the scheme present several advantages. Rather than dictating a long-term contact with a mentor, it allows for students to make brief contact with a mentor to deal with problems as and when they arise. Students are not discouraged from forming ongoing relationships with their mentors, nor from building up a network of contacts with a number of doctors. Students may approach each mentor in a selective fashion to deal with a range of issues, including health, career, medical politics and study, and do so in the way they feel most comfortable with.

The use of the web in this scheme also allows rural and remote doctors and students to participate, and no longer disadvantages fifth- and sixth-year students at teaching sites far from the main campus. Instead, the opportunity now exists to locate a mentor in their local area and build new networks that should make their stay in the north or north-west of the State more enjoyable and fulfilling. International students, who have been identified as one group having particular difficulty during their time in rural areas, may gain more support and guidance from the new scheme.

For doctors, the new scheme provides various categories of involvement to choose from. They are able to dictate just how much or how little they would like to be involved and the types of information or advice they feel comfortable providing.

While such a model is theoretically simple, its development has highlighted a number of issues. These include:

  • Protecting the interests of doctor mentors and preventing their being misused (or abused);

  • Developing an adequate network of mentors to meet a range of student needs;

  • Defining the limits of confidentiality and indicators for disclosure when student ailments prevent satisfactory ward work or study practices; and

  • Identifying an acceptable avenue for disclosure and action by a medical school given the lack of an independent regulatory body for medical students.

  • Lisa M Barrow1

  • School of Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS.



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