Virtual mentoring program shows positive effect, especially among women, in academic medicine

Catherine Doss

15 Dec 2023

Four individuals side-by-side, one wearing a physician's white coat — Members of the team of researchers for the Mentorship Matters project include (from left) Mariah Rudd, Paul Skolnik, Rebecca Pauly, and Sarah Harendt. Not pictured is Shari Whicker. Photo by Ryan Anderson for Virginia Tech.

A 12-month virtual mentoring pilot project conducted within the internal medicine department of the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM) showed promise in changing knowledge, attitudes, and skills among participants, especially women. At the start of the Mentorship Matters project, women noted less clearly defined career goals and less confidence in their ability to progress in their careers than men. At the end of the project, positive trends emerged for all participants.

Study name: Mentorship Matters: A Virtual Team-based Program – One-year Outcomes

Researchers: Rebecca R. Pauly, VTCSOM vice dean, Paul Skolnik, VTCSOM chair of basic science education, and Sarah Harendt, Mariah Rudd, and Shari Whicker of Teaching Excellence Academy for Collaborative Healthcare.

Process: A mentoring group of 24 mentees and eight mentors was formed. Participants met virtually every month as a group then broke into subgroups for career guidance and discussion. Participants were surveyed before, during and after the program.

Results: Women participants were more confident in career advancement and promotion. They were also more confident in work-life integration, negotiating for what they needed to be successful, and felt that the mentor-mentee relationship was a meaningful one.

“This pilot program demonstrates that intentionally providing structured curricula in a virtual format can result in positive outcomes, particularly for women,” said Pauly, who led the project. “We learned connectedness can occur in a virtual format, across subspecialties, and with assigned mentor-mentee teams.”

The Mentorship Matters project was presented as a poster at the recent Association of American Medical Colleges annual meeting.