Mentorship program may encourage more trainees to pursue careers in classical hematology
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A year-long pilot program of external mentorship improved confidence, advanced career development and provided networking opportunities for classical hematology trainees, according to a study published in Blood Advances.
The field of classical hematology — which includes the study of noncancerous blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thrombotic/hemorrhagic disorders — is expected to encounter a significant workforce shortage.
Mentorship has been identified as a key factor for recruiting and retaining hematology/oncology trainees, particularly in underrepresented subspecialties such as classical hematology.
Study co-author Soo J. Park, MD, associate professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine and member of UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, created a mentorship program through the ASH Medical Educators Institute to match hematology/oncology fellows interested in classical hematology with mentors outside their institutions. The mentor/mentee pairs met virtually each month for 1 year, with an option to complete an associated scholarly project.
Researchers evaluated the feasibility and impact of the mentorship program through mentor and mentee surveys conducted 6 months into the program, upon completion and 6 months after completion.
Thirty-two mentees and 27 mentors responded to the post-completion survey.
From this group, 30 mentees (94%) and 23 mentors (85%) stated they had a good match, and 18 mentees (56%) and 14 mentors (52%) planned to maintain these relationships.
Most mentees indicated the program enhanced their confidence seeking a career in classical hematology (78%), facilitated career development (78%) and had a positive effect on their sense of professional identity (88%).
“We’ve demonstrated great benefit from this external mentorship model, which I think was unique,” study co-author Zoya Qureshy, MD, internal medicine chief medical resident at UC San Diego, told Healio. “We hope that the publication of this study can serve as a good model for other programs.”
Healio spoke with Park and Qureshy about the need to recruit more classical hematologists and how their pilot program may contribute to this effort.
Healio: How problematic is the shortage of classical hematologists?
Qureshy: Two studies that surveyed hematology/oncology fellows and program directors showed only about 5% of trainees end up pursuing classical hematology. That really stood out to me.
Park: The data we have — much of which was published several years ago — predicts that the shortage is only going to get worse. That’s why several measures have been put in place to try to reverse this trend. Our mentorship program is one such measure, and another measure is ASH’s Hematology-Focused Fellowship Training Program.
Healio: How did this program work?
Qureshy: We paired 35 trainees with 34 mentors. We tried to pair people based on shared interests and demographic backgrounds, as well as the trainees’ goals for mentorship. We also considered what the mentors were able to provide and were proficient in. We chose mentors who were academically productive. We had quite a bit of interest from mentors, which we considered a good sign.
HealioHow would you characterize the program’s success?
Qureshy: Most of the mentees and mentors thought their pairings were a good fit, which speaks to the fact that deliberate pairing is important.
In terms of academic productivity, we had several trained mentees receive awards, publish papers and be part of conducting clinical trials.
Mentees’ perception of their mentors as a good fit for them was associated with a perceived positive impact on their own confidence and career development. This supports the idea that good mentorship is crucial in these career aspects.
After the program was over, our survey showed 23 of the 35 mentees had accepted hematology faculty positions after fellowship and planned to pursue classical hematology. We were very proud of that.
Healio: What are the next steps for this project?
Qureshy: We are working with ASH to formalize external mentorship opportunities in classical hematology. We also plan to add some new features to our pilot program, like an in-person meet-up. We want to foster more networking and a sense of community.
Healio: What are the potential implications of this program?
Park: We’ve demonstrated great benefit from having external mentorship through a program like this. We hope this will help those who have an interest in classical hematology but may not have the resources to find out more about the field. We want to learn what their interests are in the field and help them get connected with someone senior who can help them move forward.
Reference:
For more information:
Soo J. Park, MD, can be reached at sjp047@health.ucsd.edu.
Zoya Qureshy, MD, can be reached at zqureshy@health.ucsd.edu.
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