A prospective cohort study on the role of surgical mentorship on medical students' surgical experience and attitudes towards surgery

Background Exposure to surgery during medical school is limited. We ran a mentorship scheme pairing students at a medical school with local surgeons to improve undergraduate insight. We evaluated the effectiveness of mentorship in increasing surgical exposure and drivers for students seeking surgical mentorship. Methods 35 surgeons across 7 specialties were recruited and matched with 37 students in years 2-4 for 7 months. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation was done with pre-, mid- and post-scheme questionnaires. Students rated confidence across pursuing a career in surgery, surgical exposure, career insight, understanding the application process, contacts, portfolio development, research knowledge and pursuing extra-curricular activities related to surgery using a 5-point Likert scale. Paired t-tests were performed to measure students' confidence before and after the scheme. Results Of students that completed all 3 questionnaires (n = 21), conducting research/audit was most frequently selected as a main goal (81.0%), followed by theatre experience (66.7%) and career progression support (28.6%). The number of students that had assisted in theatre increased by 50.0%. Confidence ratings across all domains increased with 7/8 (87.5%) exhibiting a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.05). The greatest improvement was seen in having adequate contacts in surgery from 2.05 to 3.33 (p = 0.00). 95.2% would recommend the scheme. Conclusions Students gained significantly more surgical experience and were better equipped with the knowledge required to pursue a surgical career. Mentorship schemes are invaluable in supplementing the undergraduate curriculum and empowering students.