Mentoring is like motherhood and apple pie, it’s hard to dislike as an idea.
In many organisations, all over the country, HR will suddenly get excited about introducing a mentoring scheme. They’ll get a few senior figures on board who are then encouraged to offer the odd bit of fatherly (and, on occasion, motherly) advice to the young risers in the company.
Then after six months or so, with few sign ups, everyone gets busy and the scheme slips into obsolescence. A couple of years later, some new bright spark in HR has an idea for a mentoring scheme and it all starts over again. Even if the mentoring scheme does keep limping along few will be aware of its existence.
The NHS is no different. BMA research earlier this year among medical directors and postgraduate deans shows that the majority were not aware of a mentoring scheme for consultants in their region or organisation. But, among respondents that were not aware of a mentoring scheme, most viewed a potential scheme for doctors positively.
There’s no doubt that where mentoring schemes are operating they are delivering benefits, with the majority of respondents in this survey describing participant experience as positive.
It confirms the findings of multi-site research in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, in 2008, that concluded: “It seems probable that organisations would be strengthened by doctors who feel more satisfied and confident in their professional roles as a result of participation in mentoring. Mentoring may have the potential to take us beyond individual limits to greater benefits.”
The BMA survey responses suggest access to mentoring schemes for consultants varies regionally but where a scheme is in operation it is often intended for new consultants.
The most commonly stated aim of mentoring schemes was to support new consultants although support for existing consultants, such as those experiencing difficulty, was also reported.
The majority of respondents report that consultants were made aware of the scheme upon appointment and participation was voluntary. The relationship between mentee and mentor is normally confidential and not linked to appraisal.
The briefest time a scheme had been in place was two years and the oldest scheme was 12 years.
Dr Keith Brent, consultant paediatrician and member of the BMA’s consultants committee, is calling for mentoring schemes to be better supported by trusts.
He said: “We believe, and the survey supports our belief, that mentoring can be beneficial for consultants, employers, and the service - and therefore benefit patients. Therefore it certainly should be funded and time made available.”
Generally, the provision of relevant training to mentees and mentors varied, although training was more commonly provided to mentors.
Most organisations with an established mentoring scheme had not liaised with other NHS bodies. A minority of respondents report that feedback was collected from mentoring participants.
“The survey suggests that employers would welcome national guidance,” Brent said. “Our own representative structures have told us that consultants would also appreciate this. We therefore intend to produce guidance, which could be adapted for local and individual circumstances.”
Brent also believes that mentoring schemes should be available across all trusts and their demands be recognised in the job planning process and could potentially feed into appraisal, on a voluntary basis.
He said: “We are going to do some more in-depth interviews with respondents to tease out more evidence. It may well be that we will consider recommending more formal analyses of schemes as they are set up.”
Read more on the benefits of mentoring.
A mentoring toolkit.
Tags: Mentoring
