“It’s going to be hard you know…” Teachers’ perceived role in widening access to medicine

Background – Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) uses medical students to deliver widening access to medicine (WAM) interventions. Previously, new BSMS teaching-mentors received no formal training beyond safeguarding procedures. A training programme for new teaching-mentors was designed, aiming to improve their confidence and self-perceived performance. This study explored its effectiveness. Methodology – Participants self-selected into an intervention group (received formal training) or a control group. The intervention group completed one questionnaire either side of receiving training; the control group completed one questionnaire after taking part in two WAM sessions. Four participants were selected for qualitative interviews which were thematically analysed. Ethical approval was received from the BSMS Research Governance and Ethics Committee. Results – Average confidence and average self-perceived performance within the intervention group improved significantly following training. There was no significant difference between intervention and control groups. Qualitative results uncovered three main themes: Need Training, Benefits of Training, and the Shadowing Day. Discussion – It is argued that whilst training is not essential, and should not be compulsory (if mentors are already confident, it does not augment their self-perceived confidence and performance), nervous teaching-mentors do benefit from a training programme, so it should be offered to new mentors, nonetheless.

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Drastic times need drastic measures: COVID-19 and widening access to medicine

The Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh ◽

10.4997/jrcpe.2020.419 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (4) ◽

pp. 431-435

Author(s):

Kathrine Gibson Smith ◽

Jennifer Cleland

Keyword(s):

Access To Medicine ◽

Widening Access

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Medical student mentors in widening access to medicine programmes: 'we're lighting fires, not filling buckets '

Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning ◽

10.5456/wpll.22.2.205 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 205-224

Author(s):

Jack Robert Whiting ◽

Sam Wickham ◽

Darren Beaney

Keyword(s):

Medical Student ◽

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽

Ethics Committee ◽

Phenomenological Analysis ◽

Future Research ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Access To Medicine ◽

Widening Access ◽

Student Mentors ◽

Ethical Approval

Background: Widening Access to Medicine (WAM) supports nontraditional applicants throughout application to study medicine and beyond. Many WAM programmes use medical student mentors, however, there is a paucity of research into what makes a good WAM mentor and what qualities they require. This research helps fill a gap in the literature about WAM scheme mentors and provides context for recruitment/training.<br/> Methodology: Purposive sampling was used to select three year 9 mentees, four year 9 mentors, four year 12 mentees and four year 12 mentors. No limitations were placed on gender or ethnicity. Thirty-minute semi-structured interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed qualitatively, drawing on an interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. This study received ethical approval from the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) Research Governance and Ethics Committee.<br/> Results: Four main themes were identified: mentor – mentee relationship, mentor background and attitudes towards WAM, qualities and behaviours of mentors and differences between year 9 and year 12 mentors.<br/> Discussion and conclusions: The results are discussed within the context of the existing literature. This research identifies the requirements for WAM mentors from both mentors and mentees' perspectives. This will inform future WAM schemes run at BSMS and may provide a basis for future research and improvement of WAM mentors nationwide.

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