Background: Hospital Medicine continues to grow as a specialty and hospital medicine programs are rapidly expanding to meet this demand. One of the challenges of a rapidly growing program is how to onboard our new hires in a way that ensures their satisfaction and at the same time preserves engagement in a rapidly growing group.
Purpose: The aim of this initiative was to develop a peer mentorship program that paired seasoned MD/DOs and APCs within hospital medicine with new hires and to assess its efficacy as a tool for improving engagement and job satisfaction. Mentorship was defined in this study as a relationship focused on developing skills and knowledge aimed at enhancing personal and professional growth.
Description: Methods:New hires were paired with physicians or APCs that had at least 3 years experience within the department. Mentor/mentee pairs were created based on survey of personal interests, both medical and social. Individuals holding leadership positions were excluded. Participants were instructed to meet in person quarterly for 12 months. Agenda for one on one meetings was determined by individual mentor/mentee dyads, however suggested topics were provided but not required. Anonymous surveys were taken prior to starting the program and again at 12 months.
Results:
Pre-program surveys revealed that only 27% of hospitalists/APC new hires had ever received formal mentorship. Most (83%) had received some form of informal mentorship. 100% of survey respondents felt the mentorship was important to their career development.
Over a 2 year period, 26 mentees and 18 mentors participated in the program in two 12 month cohorts. 26 completed a pre-program survey and 32 completed a post-program survey. 86% of mentees and 67% of mentors reported increased job satisfaction after completing the program. In addition, mentees reported feeling more prepared to be a hospitalist (80%) and felt that the mentorship they received positively affected their career management, knowledge, skills, attitudes (80%). Both mentors and mentees reported a stronger sense of connection and cohesion within the department after completion of the program (67% for mentors and 73% for mentees).
Conclusions: Peer mentorship is an effective and cost effective tool for onboarding and ensuring cohesion and integration of new hires into a rapidly growing community based hospitalist group. Additionally, with front line care provider burnout on the rise, peer mentorship is an effective strategy for improving job satisfaction and engagement among new hospitalists and APCs as well as their mentors. Although multifactorial, it can be surmised that this program also contributed to the very low attrition rate of new hires (2 out of 26) after >1 year. More exploration is warranted on the effect of reverse mentorship (new ideas and skills passed from mentee to mentor).