Doctoral training in Uganda: evaluation of mentoring best practices at Makerere university college of health sciences

BMC Medical Education

Harriet Mayanja-Kizza³  Nelson Sewankambo³  Moses R Kamya³  Elialilia Okello¹  Dan K Kaye²  Achilles Katamba³  Damalie Nakanjako³ 

[1] Department of Psychiatry, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda;Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda;Department of Internal Medicine, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda

关键词: Uganda;    Low and middle income countries;    Health care;    Capacity building;    Supervision;    Doctoral training;    Mentorship;   

Others  :  1135667
DOI  :  10.1186/1472-6920-14-9

 received in 2013-08-26, accepted in 2014-01-08,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

Background

Good mentoring is a key variable for determining success in completing a doctoral program. We identified prevailing mentoring practices among doctoral students and their mentors, identified common challenges facing doctoral training, and proposed some solutions to enhance the quality of the doctoral training experience for both candidates and mentors at Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS).

Methods

This cross-sectional qualitative evaluation was part of the monitoring and evaluation program for doctoral training. All doctoral students and their mentors were invited for a half-day workshop through the MakCHS mailing list. Prevailing doctoral supervision and mentoring guidelines were summarised in a one-hour presentation. Participants were split into two homogenous students’ (mentees’) and mentors’ groups to discuss specific issues using a focus group discussion (FGD) guide, that highlighted four main themes in regard to the doctoral training experience; what was going well, what was not going well, proposed solutions to current challenges and perceived high priority areas for improvement. The two groups came together again and the note-takers from each group presented their data and discussions were recorded by a note-taker.

Results

Twelve out of 36 invited mentors (33%) and 22 out of 40 invited mentees (55%) attended the workshop. Mentors and mentees noted increasing numbers of doctoral students and mentors, which provided opportunities for peer mentorship. Delays in procurement and research regulatory processes subsequently delayed students’ projects. Similarly, mentees mentioned challenges of limited; 1) infrastructure and mentors to support basic science research projects, 2) physical office space for doctoral students and their mentors, 3) skills in budgeting and finance management and 4) communication skills including conflict resolution. As solutions, the team proposed skills’ training, induction courses for doctoral students-mentor teams, and a Frequently Asked Questions’ document, to better inform mentors’, mentees’ expectations and experiences.

Conclusion

Systemic and infrastructural limitations affect the quality of the doctoral training experience at MaKCHS. Clinical and biomedical research infrastructure, in addition to training in research regulatory processes, procurement and finance management, communication skills and information technology, were highlighted as high priority areas for strategic interventions to improve mentoring within doctoral training of clinician scientists.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Nakanjako et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Cummings JN, Kiesler S: Collaborative research across disciplinary and organizational boundaries. Soc Stud Sci 2005, 35(5):703-722.
• [2]Manabe YC, Katabira E, Brough RL, Coutinho AG, Sewankambo N, Merry C: Developing independent investigators for clinical research relevant for Africa. Health Res Policy Syst 2011, 9:44. BioMed Central Full Text
• [3]Mugyenyi P, Sewankambo NK: Mentor’s manual for health sciences training in Africa. Kampala: Fountain Publishers Limited; 2010.
• [4]Nakanjako D, Byakika-Kibwika P, Kintu K, Aizire J, Nakwagala F, Luzige S, Namisi C, Mayanja-Kizza H, Kamya M: Mentorship needs at academic institutions in resource-limited settings: a survey at makerere university college of health sciences. BMC Med Educ 2011, 11(1):53. BioMed Central Full Text
• [5]Howard GA: Mentoring: An Essential Factor in the Doctoral Process for Minority Students. Education Resource Information Centre (ERIC). Notre Dame, IN: National consortium for graduate degrees for minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc. (GEM); 1992:13.
• [6]de Valero F: Departmental factors affecting time-to-degree and completion rates of doctoral students at one Land-grant research institution. J Higher Educ 2001, 72(3):341-361.
• [7]Boyatzis RE: Transforming Qualitative Information. Thematic Analysis and Code Development SAGE Publications Inc; 1998. http://www.sagepub.com/books/Book7714 webcite
• [8]Joffe H, Yardley L: Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine. 2003. http://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&lr=&id=SHiUvmKzuFwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA56&dq=thematic+content+analysis&ots=JmZRz81E0O&sig=cE-B8dlOFF8wR10mdjrJnIallh8#v=onepage&q=thematic%20content%20analysis&f=false webcite
• [9]Duff P, Kipp W, Wild TC, Rubaale T, Okech-Ojony J: Barriers to accessing highly active antiretroviral therapy by HIV-positive women attending an antenatal clinic in a regional hospital in western Uganda. J Int AIDS Soc 2010, 13(37):1-9.
• [10]Shelly DM, Rosemary P: Improving Doctoral Student Retention. Education Resource Information Centre (ERIC); 1997. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED406894 webcite Accessed on 15th January 2014
• [11]Tenenbauma HR, Crosbyb FJ, Glinerc MD: Mentoring relationships in graduate school. J Vocat Behav 2001, 59(3):326-341.
• [12]Gunnarsson R, Jonasson G,AB: The experience of disagreement between students and supervisors in PhD education: a qualitative study. BMC Med Educ 2013, 13(134):1-8. http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED358769 webcite
• [13]Belcher D: The apprenticeship approach to advanced academic literacy: Graduate students and their mentors. Engl Specif Purp 1994, 13(1):23-24.
• [14]Hagopian A, Thompson M, Fordyce M, Johnson K, Hart LG: The migration of physicians from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States of America: measures of the African brain drain. Hum Resour Health 2004, 2(1):17. BioMed Central Full Text
• [15]Mullan F: The metrics of the physician brain drain. N Engl J Med 2005, 353(17):1810-1818.
• [16]Pang T, Lansang MA, Haines A: Brain drain and health professionals. BMJ 2002, 324(7336):499-500.