Mentoring in Dentistry - Background

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Mentoring in Dentistry - Background
Lecturers
Trainers Advisers
Hosp Trainers
Dental Tutors
PDP Problems Recertification Performance Career
Advice
PDP Problems Trainer Trainee Appraisal Career
Advice
PDP Problems Trainer Trainee Appraisal Career
Advice
The Continuum Tutor/Mentor Career Advice
Support to Develop ? Enhanced Quality Training
Care ?
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Mentoring in Dentistry Pilot Study
Aim To evaluate the response of postgraduate
dental tutors and advisers to a mentoring
training programme and its potential for future
education planning. Course The 4 day mentoring
course focused on learning to use the Egan
model1. The course involved learning about the
stages of the model as well as enhancing
communication skills. Role play was used in
order to practice and acquire the skills. 1.
Egan G. The Skilled Helper, California, Brooks
Cole.
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• Method
• The sample
• 9 dental tutors/vocational training advisors.
• Data
• Collected before and after the course using
  self-completion questionnaires and by
  semi-structured interview 2-3 months after the
  course.
• Data analysis
• SPSS for the questionnaires.
• Interviews recorded and transcribed.
• Analysis using thematic content analysis2,
  detailed examination of the interview
  transcripts to identify important themes and
  quotations that are examples of the same
  underlying concepts
• 2. Straus and Cobin

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Results Tutors reported an increased
understanding of what mentoring is Mentoring
happens within an ongoing relationship where the
mentor facilitates the process of the demented in
articulating their feelings and ideas, and in
planning their actions. Confidentiality is of
key importance. (Tutor 7, before) Mentoring is
part of a relationship where the mentor helps the
other person to become what they want to be and
realise their potential (Tutor 7,
after) Traditionally, the mentor is a trusted
and faithful guide for a person who is on a
journey of personal, professional and career
development3 3 .Connor Mary (1998)
Mentoring for Medics
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Results What they learned about themselves
mentoring Part of what the course did for me,
made me realise that I havent got anybody and I
wish I had We are wonderful fixers, we go
"problem- solution" and now, having done the
course, I am more aware of the need for
perspective and helping people come to their own
decisions What skills did they acquire? The
main skill was structured thinking. Rather than
an ad hoc basis of just approaching something and
jumping in I gained listening skills, and
structured thinking skills. I think those are
the two most important ones probably.
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Results Initial application of mentoring was
... positive I've tried to use the skills ..
and it (makes) an amazing difference. It makes me
feel better and it makes the person think that I
am someone with a different approach, someone who
seems to listen a lot more. I really enjoyed
(brainstorming) when we were practising and so I
tried itI got the same sort of reaction that I
had initially. It was good it does work! I
listened to him and then went through different
options and then got him to make a plan and
....
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Views on the use of mentoring to assist GDPs on
continuing education planning Im quite happy
to discuss how you can achieve fulfilling
post-graduate education, but if you dont want to
do post-graduate education, no amount of
compulsory mentoring is going to help. I feel
as though we need some additional training. I
would like to do this my concern isthere may
not be time or funding provided for it(time) I
mean Im over committed now Funding should be
made available. It has to be sold in the right
manner. It doesnt have to be seen as a threat.
Its got to be an opportunity again I think
you'd have a job getting money off a GDP
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• Conclusions
• Seven out of the eight tutors who took part in
  this study
• were positive about the use of mentoring to
  assist dentists
• with their educational and career development
  needs.
• The perceived problems with mentoring were
• a low level of uptake due to a negative image or
  lack of
• information on mentoring,
• lack of funding and time and
• a need for support and further training for the
  mentors.

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• Recommendations
• Survey the mentees, following mentoring
• practice to assess success and problems with
  mentoring.
• Uptake for mentoring will depend on a positive
  response
• from the above and on offering a choice of
  mentor.
• A long-term follow up of mentoring activity
  should ascertain
• the continued use/demand for mentoring.
• An advisory/support group to share information on
  
• mentoring and offer on-going training.
• If demand increases, the network of mentors will
• need to increase to reduce the workload on the
  few(20).
• A working party should be set up in order to
  monitor
• development of mentoring with particular heed
  to