Keywords: Medical education, residents in difficuty, mentors, mixed methods

Background:

Medical education is a process of gradual development of knowledge, skills, and professional values, through which students and residents progress from theoretical understanding to independent clinical practice. While most residents progress in line with expectations, some of them have difficulties during training. The aim of this study is to explore mentors’ attitudes and experiences regarding the identification and management of residents who do not meet expected competencies.

Research questions:

How do mentors perceive the factors that hinder residents’ expected progress, what are their experiences with residents facing difficulties during training, and which strategies do they identify as effective in addressing these challenges?

Method:

A mixed-methods study will be conducted on a national sample of family medicine mentors involved in residency programs in Slovenia (N = 400). In the first phase, a questionnaire was developed based on a literature review and expert opinions to assess mentors’ perceptions of factors contributing to difficulties in the mentoring process and their experiences with residents experiencing difficulties. In the second phase, in-depth semi-structured interviews will be conducted with mentors who report having worked with residents in difficulty. The analysis of the interview data employed qualitative content analysis.

Results:

The study is expected to provide a comprehensive insight into mentors’ attitudes and experiences when working with residents who do not meet expectations. Based on the analysis of reported cases of residents with difficulties, recommendations will be developed for the early identification and effective management of residents who do not progress in accordance with expected competencies.

Conclusions:

Insights into the behavioral and professional characteristics of residents who do not meet expectations, in comparison with successful residents, as well as into mentoring strategies that have proven effective in addressing these challenges, may contribute to the development of best practice recommendations for mentors and coordinators of medical and dental residency programs.

Points for discussion:

How is the problem of residents who do not meet expectaion addressed in other countries