Why do EDs need mentoring?

To address these common situations

• Staff feel stressed and isolated• They feel uneasy about discussing their problems• Lack confidence and leadership skills• Feel poorly engaged and connected with others

Resulting in

• Disillusionment and negativity

Not a good result individually or for the organisation

Organisations are using mentoring as a way to address these types of workplace issues

Several Australian specialist medical colleges already have established mentoring programs in place

The Potential Solution?Mentoring

Jenny is an SMO who just found out that she didn’t pass her Fellowship exam. She is quite devastated by the news as she has always been a high achiever and has performed well up until recently.

Her young daughter is chronically ill and this has put a strain on her marriage. She comes from a family of medical specialists and aculture where failure is looked upon poorly, so she doesn’t want to let her family down.

Case Study - Jenny

Jenny doesn’t feel that she can talk to anyone at work about her problems as she doesn’t want to be seen as being weak. She is starting to feel quite overwhelmed by the situation and isn’t sure what to do.

Her DEMT picked up on signs suggesting Jenny was stressed. Her department recently started a mentoring program and her DEMT suggests she consider a mentor. She agrees and chooses someone whom she feels has an understanding of her culture.

Case Study - Jenny

At the end of the first formal meeting Jenny told her mentor that she felt as though the world had lifted off her shoulders as she finally had someone she could comfortably talk with.

Her mentor helped her to identify the major issues and suggested some ways she could working through them. She also helped Jenny prioritise tasks, develop goals and stress management skills and suggested some third party services she could consider.

Case Study - Jenny

Jenny’s mentor helped her to identify and work through her personal challenges in a safe environment which enabled her to pass her Fellowship exam.

Jenny is now a mentor herself as she wants to help others as her mentor did her.

Case Study - Jenny

Dan has just started as a trainee and heard about mentoring during orientation. He wants the best chance to succeed in his career so put his name down to be a mentee.

Dan learned that mentoring isn’t only for those experiencing difficulties but can also serve as a way to help people at any level progress further.

Case Study - Dan

Dan also wanted guidance with career development and access to someone who could identify his strengths and challenge him to think in different ways.

He was attracted to the possibility that mentoring could offer him a faster way to ‘learn the ropes’ and deal with problems as they arise.

Case Study - Dan

Recommendations for Mentoring

Health Workforce Australia study into postgraduate medical training in Australia found that mentoring programs were increasing in Australia (HWA 2011)

AMA recommended “organisations develop processes for supporting the professional development of doctors who demonstrate an enthusiasm for mentoring” (AMA 2012)

The House of Representatives, Standing Committee on Health and Ageing recommended “access to mentoring and peer support” for IMGs (Standing Committee on Health and Ageing 2012)

Benefits of Mentoring

“71% of Fortune 500 companies offer mentoring programs to their employees” (Rouen 2012)

“Mentoring is an effective strategy whenever there is a need to reduce the time it takes to share knowledge, skill or culture while continuing to progress at the current pace of business” (Chronus 2012)

“mentoring was viewed as having major benefits for patients” (Steven et al. 2008)

Benefits to Mentees

Personal as well as professional development Networking opportunities Having a role model Developing professional behaviour and identity Improving problem solving skills Increasing confidence and leadership skills Opportunity to discuss career options Discuss problems in a non-threatening environment Opportunity to be challenged constructively

Benefits to Mentors

Opportunity to share knowledge Giving back to their profession Satisfaction in mentee’s success Peer recognition Development of self awareness and own learning Develop greater understanding of other cultures and

viewpoints

Benefits to Organisations

Employee engagement and satisfaction Better workplace communication Improved workplace culture More efficient knowledge transfer Improved employer reputation Employee recruitment and retention Career planning and leadership development

Benefits to Organisations

Mentoring “…improves employee morale, increases job satisfaction and engenders employee loyalty” (Chronus 2012)

The American College of Emergency Physicians’ mentoring program has improved the behaviour of negative, reactive and confused emergency department staff, termed the “B team”, by giving them “A team” mentors (Hurley 2010)

“An effective mentoring programme typically leads to a minimum of 30% higher retention of staff” (Clutterbuck 2011)

Benefits to Organisations

Mentoring helps new employees to “…become productive faster and embrace company culture. It also demonstrates the organization’s commitment to new employee’s career” (Chronus 2012)

“No new consultant should have to go through what I did. I wish I had had someone to share my frustrations when I started – that’s why I wanted to become a mentor” (Doherty 2004)

Potential Pitfalls

Inappropriate expectations/feedback Poor mentee/mentor matching Lack of training for mentor Confidentiality breaches Mentor driven relationship Conflict of interest/bias Stagnation of relationship Lack of time

Most of these can be overcome by a well designed program

What makes Successful Mentoring?

Formal structure in place Involvement is voluntary Mutual benefit Expectations and roles are clear Confidentiality respected Mentor training provided Program supported at all levels Matching process for participants Ongoing program evaluations Start small with a pilot program

Mentoring vs. Medical Approach

The Medical Approach The Mentoring Approach

Doctor as expert, patient needing treatment. Doctor leads, patient follows instructions.

Doctor asks questions to diagnose and problem solve.

Mentee leads by determining what they want from the mentoring relationship.

Mentor assists mentee by asking questions to understand their needs, then using a facilitative approach to enable the mentee to find their own solutions.

The Medical Approach The Mentoring Approach

Performance management or assessment.

Clinical supervision or an expert training a novice.

Supervisor determines deficiencies and advises on correct approach.

Personal and professional development.

Mentor stimulates mentee’s critical thinking and develops their problem solving skills.

Mentor respectfully challenges the mentee with different values and ideas to gain insight into unproductive strategies and behaviours and gives mentee options. Mentor facilitates learning.

Mentoring vs. Medical Approach

The Medical Approach The Mentoring Approach

A culture of competition where high achievement is expected and feelings are not shared or discussed amongst colleagues for fear of being seen as weak or incompetent.

Collaborative and supportive culture where discussing feelings and experiences is accepted by both mentor and mentee in a confidential and non-judgemental environment.

Intellectual intelligence by being right. Senior doctor corrects and provides junior doctor with answers.

Emotional intelligence. Mentor learns mentee’s strengths and preferred learning styles and interacts appropriately. Mentor empowers mentee with knowledge, experience and networks and guides them to find their own way.

Mentoring vs. Medical Approach

Support

ACEM can provide support for members with Mentor training Networking opportunities Mentoring framework (Guidebook, templates etc.) Online needs analysis and evaluation tools Other supporting resources ACEM staff support

Conclusion

There is substantial evidence supporting that a well designed mentoring program can improve workplace productivity with a small investment in time.

“The bottom line for mentoring is that it achieves a great deal of change at relatively little cost” (Clutterbuck 2011)

Further information: The Case for Mentoring in Emergency Departments - ACEM review paper

ReferencesAustralian Medical Association 2012, Supervision and assessment of hospital based postgraduate medical trainees - 2012, Australian Medical Association, viewed 4 April 2013, <https://ama.com.au/position-statement/supervision-and-assessment-hospital-based-postgraduate-medical-trainees-2012>

Chronus 2012, The Business Case of Mentoring, Chronus Corporation, viewed 28 March 2013, <http://chronus.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/The-Business-Case-of-Mentoring-Chronus-White-Paper.pdf>

Clutterbuck, D 2011, The mentoring edge, Clutterbuck Associates, Buckinghamshire, viewed 27 March 2013, http://www.gpstrategiesltd.com/downloads/The-mentoring-edge-v2.0-June-2011[31].pdf

Doherty, C 2004, ‘Introducing mentoring to doctors – Challenging the sink of swim culture’, Development and learning in organizations, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 6-8.

Health Workforce Australia 2011, A Strategic Study of Postgraduate Medical Training: Baseline Report, Health Workforce Australia, viewed 5 April 2013, <http://www.hwa.gov.au/sites/uploads/hwa-postgraduate-medical-training-study-010611_0.pdf>

Hurley, D 2010, Mentor Staff to Improve Patient Satisfaction, American College of Emergency Physicians, viewed 27 March 2013, <http://www.acep.org/Clinical---Practice-Management/Mentor-Staff-to-Improve-Patient-Satisfaction/>

Rouen, E 2012, When leaders are scarce, employees look to peers, Fortune, April 19, 2012, viewed 28 March 2013, <http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/19/peer-mentoring/>

Standing Committee on Health and Ageing, House of Representatives, The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia 2012, Lost in the Labyrinth, Report on the inquiry into registration processes and support for overseas trained doctors, Canberra.

Steven, A, Oxley, J & Fleming, WG 2008, ‘Mentoring for NHS doctors: perceived benefits across the personal-professional interface’, Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, vol. 101, pp. 552-557.

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