Radiation Oncology AcaDemic Mentorship Program (ROADMAP) for Junior Faculty: 1-Year Results of a Prospective Single Institution Initiative

Committee/Faculty

Co-Author(s)

DL

Diana Lin, BA

Medical Student Clinical Research Fellow
Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
HERSHEY, Pennsylvania, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
Daniel R. Gomez, MD, MBA

Attending Physician
Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
YZ

Yue Helen Zhang, BS

Medical Student Clinical Research Fellow
Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
RG

Renee Genarelli, BA, MS

Research Biostatistician
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
Jason A. Efstathiou, MD, DPhil

Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
DG

Daphna Gelblum, MD

Attending Physician
Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
LL

Laura Liberman, MD

Director
Office of the Deputy Physician-in-Chief, Education and Faculty Affairs, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
AH

Ariel E. Hirsch, MD

Associate Professor
Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.
OC

Oren Cahlon, MD

Attending Physician
Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure: Disclosure information not submitted.

Presenting Author(s)

EG

Erin F. Gillespie, MD

Assistant Attending Physician
Department of Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York, United States

Disclosure: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Purpose: Although mentorship has been associated with promotion, job satisfaction and retention, data is limited on a) differences in experience between clinical and research track physicians and b) feasibility and relative priority of formal program components.

Methodology: Within a single institution’s multi-site academic network, we implemented a Radiation Oncology AcaDemic Mentorship Program (ROADMAP) for junior faculty that included traditional dyads and peer mentoring. Validated surveys assessing mentee satisfaction were distributed at baseline and one year. Statistical analysis included Wilcoxon rank sum and signed tests. Mentees assessed the “likelihood to recommend” each program component (10-point Likert-type scale), and means with standard error (SE) are reported. Mentor experience was evaluated through a survey and focus group.

Results: Among 42 eligible junior faculty, 36 (86%) opted into the program. Median time since residency was 2.5 years (IQR 1.75,5.25) for physicians on the clinical track (n=12) versus 3 years (IQR 2.75,5) for physicians on the research track (n=24). Two physicians (17%) on the clinical track endorsed having a pre-existing primary mentor compared to 19 (79%) on the research track. Research track physicians reported higher satisfaction with mentoring than physicians on the clinical track (2.92 vs 2.16, respectively, p=0.02). Among 32 physicians completing one-year, overall satisfaction with mentoring increased compared to baseline (2.72 vs 3.87, respectively, p< 0.001), which persisted on subset analysis for physicians on both clinical (2.16 vs 4.03, p< 0.001) and research tracks (2.99 vs 3.77, p=0.005). At one year, 28 mentees (88%) opted to remain in the program. Ratings of program components were 8.25 (SE 0.37) for mentor/mentee pairings, 7.22 (SE 0.39) for goal setting, 6.84 (SE 0.47) for administrative support, 6.69 (SE 0.44) for peer mentoring, and 6.53 (SE 0.45) for steering committee oversight. Clinical track physicians were more likely to recommend peer mentoring (p < 0.001). Among 12 mentors (RR 71%), 11 (92%) reported that the program was successful, although 4 (25%) were not sure about their personal effectiveness as mentors. Focus group discussion among mentors (n=8) emphasized 3 themes: 1) need for mentor training and departmental transparency regarding promotion processes, 2) relative burden of program thought to be appropriate with optimal number of mentees being 3 or fewer, and 3) benefits of and opportunities to expand departmental initiatives to showcase faculty accomplishments.

Conclusions: Implementing a formal mentorship program was feasible in a large academic network. Although clinical track physicians may be less satisfied with mentorship than research track faculty, they appear to benefit as much from formalizing mentorship. Key components of a mentorship program include dyadic mentor-mentee relationships, goal-setting, and peer mentoring. Further work is needed to replicate findings in multiple institutions and determine the role of formal mentorship in addressing physician burnout.

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