Effect of peer mentoring program on students’ communication skills, self-confidence and educational achievements in Dental Faculty of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background: Identifying strength, weakness, oppurtunities and threats, is prerequisities of a successful mentoring program. Also, mentor’s education is one of the important factors of mentoring program’s promotion. So, we studied the effects of pamphlete and lecture based education on the quality of relationship in mentoring program of dental faculty of Tabriz university of medical sciences. Likewise, internal and external alanysis of the program was performed. Materials and Methods: In this study,which was a descriptive interventional study,the first and second year students of the dental faculty of Tabriz university of medical sciences were selected as mentees (35 people) and second,third and fourth year students were selected as mentors (19 people). Selected mentors and mentees were the ones enrolled in mentoring office and were eligible for our study. Data collection tools were SWOT and relationship quality questinnaires. Reliability and validity approval of questionnaires were done. Mentoring center had chosen a mentor for each mentee. At first, all of mentees answered SWOT questionnaire. Then mentors were divided into intervention (educated by pamphlete and lecture) and control (lack of education) groups. After 2 months, mentees answered the quality questionnaire. Datas were analysed by SPSS 24 and Chi square and analysis of covarians; then paired T test and T independent. Results: In this study, 55 mentees joined in control (27 people) and intervention groups (28 people). Also 19 mentors were divided into control (9 people) and intervention (education) groups (10 people). SWOT analysis showed that the most effective strengths of mentoring program were: thruthfulness of mentees with their mentors and mentor’s expertise in guiding mentees. About weakness, the most important ones were not meeting mentors at the determinate time and not ensuring about mentee’s proper education by mentors. The most important opportunities of the program were feeling comfort with mentors and utility of the program. Mentee’s worry about transferring their data to other students, was one of the threats of the program. Covarians test showed significant difference in relationship quality between both control and intervention groups. Also, after intervention, satisfaction, coping, and trust in intervention group were significantly higher than the control group. Conclusion: Mentors education by pamphlete and lecture led to increase in quality of the mentoring program.