The effect of peer mentoring program on clinical academic progress and psychological characteristics of operating room students: a parallel randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Background One of the new educational systems is the mentorship method. This study aimed to investigate the effect of peer mentoring program on clinical academic progress and psychological characteristics of operating room students. Methods This research was a randomized controlled trial that was conducted on undergraduate students in the operating room department of Khomein Faculty of Medical Sciences, Markazi Province in Iran. The number of operating room students were 70 that were divided into intervention and control groups by random allocation using Permuted Block Randomization. Inclusion criteria included all operating room students who were in internship, and exclusion criteria included failure to complete the questionnaires. The data collection tools were the demographic questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and Situational Motivational Scale. In the control group, clinical training was done in the traditional way. In the intervention group, training was done by peer mentoring method. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, paired t-test, chi-square test, ANCOVA, univariable and multivariable linear regression. Results The study revealed significant differences between the intervention and control groups. Post-intervention, the intervention group demonstrated substantial increases in self-confidence (mean difference = 5.97, p < 0.001) and significant reductions in stress levels (mean difference = -3.22, p < 0.001). Conversely, minimal changes were noted in the control group for both self-confidence (mean difference = 0.057, p = 0.934) and stress levels (mean difference = 0.142, p = 0.656). Although both groups experienced decreases in anxiety and depression levels, these changes were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Furthermore, the intervention significantly enhanced academic progress in the intervention group compared to the control group (mean difference = 20.31, p < 0.001). Conclusion The results showed that the implementation of the peer mentoring program was effective in improving academic progress, self-confidence, and reducing the stress of operating room students. Therefore, this educational method can be used in addition to the usual methods to improve the education of operating room students.

Comparison of the effects of apprenticeship training by sandwich feedback and traditional methods on final-semester operating room technology students’ perioperative competence and performance: a randomized, controlled trial

“…Consequently, it is indispensable to change or complement the traditional perioperative apprenticeship methods with new practical and well-established approaches to cultivate the required perioperative competencies and performance of Iranian OR trainees. To this end, there is a growing interest in Iranian perioperative studies to establish active and productive clinical training methods for OR trainees [ 10 – 13 ].…”