1. Mentoring as a complex adaptive system – a systematic scoping review of prevailing mentoring theories in medical education
- Author
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Mac Yu Kai Teo, Halah Ibrahim, Casper Keegan Ronggui Lin, Nur Amira Binte Abdul Hamid, Ranitha Govindasamy, Nagavalli Somasundaram, Crystal Lim, Jia Ling Goh, Yi Zhou, Kuang Teck Tay, Ryan Rui Song Ong, Vanessa Tan, Youru Toh, Anushka Pisupati, Vijayprasanth Raveendran, Keith Zi Yuan Chua, Elaine Li Ying Quah, Jeevasuba Sivakumar, Samyuktha Dhanalakshmi Senthilkumar, Keerthana Suresh, Wesley Teck Wee Loo, Ruth Si Man Wong, Yiying Pei, Julia Huina Sng, Simone Qian Min Quek, Jasmine Lerk Juan Owyong, Ting Ting Yeoh, Eng Koon Ong, Gillian Li Gek Phua, Stephen Mason, Ruaraidh Hill, Anupama Roy Chowdhury, Simon Yew Kuang Ong, and Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna
- Subjects
Mentoring ,Medical education ,Complex adaptive systems ,Host organization ,Communities of practice ,Mentorship theories ,Special aspects of education ,LC8-6691 ,Medicine - Abstract
Abstract Background Effective mentorship is an important component of medical education with benefits to all stakeholders. In recent years, conceptualization of mentorship has gone beyond the traditional dyadic experienced mentor-novice mentee relationship to include group and peer mentoring. Existing theories of mentorship do not recognize mentoring’s personalized, evolving, goal-driven, and context-specific nature. Evidencing the limitations of traditional cause-and-effect concepts, the purpose of this review was to systematically search the literature to determine if mentoring can be viewed as a complex adaptive system (CAS). Methods A systematic scoping review using Krishna’s Systematic Evidence-Based Approach was employed to study medical student and resident accounts of mentoring and CAS in general internal medicine and related subspecialties in articles published between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2023 in PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC, Google Scholar, and Scopus databases. The included articles underwent thematic and content analysis, with the themes identified and combined to create domains, which framed the discussion. Results Of 5,704 abstracts reviewed, 134 full-text articles were evaluated, and 216 articles were included. The domains described how mentoring relationships and mentoring approaches embody characteristics of CAS and that mentorship often behaves as a community of practice (CoP). Mentoring’s CAS-like features are displayed through CoPs, with distinct boundaries, a spiral mentoring trajectory, and longitudinal mentoring support and assessment processes. Conclusion Recognizing mentorship as a CAS demands the rethinking of the design, support, assessment, and oversight of mentorship and the role of mentors. Further study is required to better assess the mentoring process and to provide optimal training and support to mentors.
- Published
- 2024
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