Radiation Oncology AcaDemic Mentorship Program (ROADMAP) for Junior Faculty: 1-Year Results of a Prospective Single Institution Initiative.
Academic Article
Overview
abstract
PURPOSE: Although mentorship has been associated with promotion, job satisfaction and retention, data are limited on a) mentorship experience of clinical vs research track physicians and b) feasibility and relative priority of formal program components. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Within a single institution multi-site academic network, we implemented a Radiation Oncology AcaDemic Mentorship Program (ROADMAP) for junior faculty. Validated surveys assessing mentee satisfaction were distributed at baseline and one year. Statistical analysis included Wilcoxon rank sum and signed tests. Mentees assessed the "likelihood to recommend" each program component (10-point Likert-type scale), and means with standard error (SE) are reported. RESULTS: Among 42 eligible junior faculty, 36 (86%) opted into the program. Median time since residency was 2.5 years (IQR 1.75, 5.25) on the clinical track (n=12) and 3 years (IQR 2.75, 5) on the research track (n=24). At baseline, research track physicians reported higher satisfaction with mentoring than physicians on the clinical track (2.92 vs 2.16, respectively, p=0.02). Among 32 physicians completing one-year, overall satisfaction with mentoring increased compared to baseline (2.72 vs 3.87, respectively, p<0.001), which persisted on subset analysis for both clinical (2.16 vs 4.03, p<0.001) and research track physicians (2.99 vs 3.77, p=0.005). At one year, 28 mentees (88%) opted to continue the program. Program components were rated 8.25 (SE 0.37) for mentor/mentee pairings, 7.22 (SE 0.39) for goal setting, 6.84 (SE 0.47) for administrative support, 6.69 (SE 0.44) for peer mentoring, and 6.53 (SE 0.45) for Steering Committee oversight. Ratings of peer mentoring were not associated with track (p=0.59) or years in practice (p=0.29). CONCLUSIONS: Clinical track physicians may be less satisfied with mentorship than research track faculty. But all junior faculty, regardless of track, appear to benefit from formalizing dyadic mentor-mentee relationships, goal setting, and peer mentoring. Further work is needed to determine the role of mentorship in addressing physician burnout.
