Perception and Attitude of House Officers about Mentoring at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado- Ekiti

Abstract

Introduction: Mentoring is an established means of providing support for young inexperienced individuals such as house officers who are just starting their medical career and it is meant to assist them to cope with stress and maintain a satisfying work-life balance. The study assessed the attitude and perception of house officers about mentoring at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti.
Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey. Self-administered questionnaires were used for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of sections on the general characteristics of respondents, their knowledge and attitude toward mentoring.
Results: Out of the 29 house officers invited to participate in the study, 24 (83%) returned the completed questionnaire. The mean age of respondents was 26.6±2.81 years. Seventeen (70.8%) and 7(29.2%) were males and females respectively. Almost all (95.8%) of the respondents were aware of mentoring. However, only 9(37.5%) of them had mentors. The reasons given for not having mentors included not seeing a need for one, not having opportunity to have one and fear of choosing wrongly (24.0%, 20.8%, 4.2% respectively). All responded that having a mentor was beneficial
and 23(95.8%) desired to have a mentor. Twenty (83.3%) stated that the management of their institution should have a role in developing mentoring programs. Time constraints on the part of mentor (91.7%), lack of confidentiality on the part of both mentor and mentee (45.6%), fear of being emotionally abused (20.8%) and being misled (37.5%) on the part of the mentee were identified challenges to a mentoring relationship. Majority (95.8%) believed that a mentee should be allowed to choose his/her mentor and only 9(37.5%) believed in formal matching of mentor to mentee. Sixty–one percent believed that mentor and mentee should hold formal monthly meetings. Possession of good interpersonal skills on the part of the mentors (91.7%) and formal training on mentorship for mentee (66.7%) were some identified factors that could enhance successful mentoring relationship
Conclusions
This study observed that house officers are desirous of a mentoring relationship with their senior colleagues. There is a need for the hospital management to institute a formal mentoring program for this young cadre of workers.