From Medical Students to Junior Doctors - Feasibility of a Mentor supported transition through the “Resident Ready Network”

The interventions or study conditions are 1.) active participation in the Resident Ready Network (RRN) a near-peer mentoring program, or 2.) the control group. Both conditions will involve reading the information sheet, understanding the project, and signing an informed consent form. All participants will sign up to becoming a member on a digital mentoring platform called 'Chronus'. This will be the platform used for participant contact and data collection points; however, only the RRN group will receive approximately 12-months of active near-peer mentoring. The near-peer mentoring program, the Resident Ready Network (RRN) has been developed in consultation with medical students, doctors and researchers in South-East Queensland. The RRN will provide students with a semi-structured support network to develop a professional relationship with a junior doctor. The RRN is embedded and supported by the Chronus digital mentor platform and linked in through University of Queensland (UQ) services and processes. Chronus is an online mentoring platform, which provides a framework allowing users to create, implement and manage mentoring programs. This platform hosts’ hundreds of worldwide mentoring programs, and the University of Queensland, Australia, has recently invested in and endorsed Chronus to promote mentoring through UQ. UQ has formalised a contractual agreement which is in line with the Universities’ policies and procedures. The mentor program is securely locked and only accessible to approved users’, with password-protected logins. UQ has embedded its’ own specific code of conduct, and privacy and confidentially agreement within the platform, and all participants, upon signing up to Chronus, are required to abide by the terms and conditions. Medical students and junior doctors will be invited to provide informed consent and sign up through Chronus and create individual profiles. Baseline data will also be collected through Chronus as individuals sign on to the mentoring platform. Within Chornus, UQ medical students (to-be mentees) can peruse mentor profiles and self-select a mentor that they feel might suit their needs. For those who do not wish to self-select, a 'best fit' algorithm with be run to determine best mentor-mentee pairs. ‘The Launch’ event, will be held at The Translational Research Institute (TRI), on campus at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH), and will act as a welcome session and icebreaker for the first meeting of all matched mentor/mentee pairs. The launch has been planned as an introduction and networking evening, in a safe environment, known to both junior doctors and medical students and will be delivered over a 2hr timeframe. Guest speakers will share their experiences with mentoring, to highlight possible benefits and also different approaches to mentoring. Speakers for the launch evening will include the primary investigators (to describe how the RRN will function/expectations etc), as well as specialist medical consultants as well as trainee junior doctors who have engaged in other mentoring programs (do describe their previous experiences and lessons learned). This session will all be delivered face to face at the launch event. Ideas on goal setting in mentoring to achieve targeted outcomes will also be discussed. A ‘mentor agreement/objective guide’ will be available for pairs that desire more structure and support, whereas other pairs may freely chat and get to know each other at the launch. The desired outcome is for pairs to start building rapport, and from there they can shape and plan their future mentoring interactions. All available resources to support the relationship will be emailed prior to the launch event such that users who can’t attend this session have access to the same resources as those who do attend. The RRN is designed to be semi-structured, whereby participants will meet initially at the RRN-hosted launch, which will offer them information, guidance, and some structure; however, from there participants can decide the frequency, duration and style of their mentoring interactions. it is expected tat mentor/mentee pairs meet at least 2 times per year for 1hr each time. At the launch, participants will receive a mentor agreement, and a mentor record, which they can use to guide their ongoing contact. The RRN is designed ultimately to encourage individuals to interact in a naturalistic and comfortable way, allowing participants to tailor their mentoring experience to best suit them, as opposed to a ‘prescribed interaction’ or scripted relationship. To further support them on their personal journey, they also have access to many resources through UQ, Queensland Health and Chronus, and they will receive quarterly prompts to stay engaged. Through the Chronus mentoring platform, mentors and mentees have access to online resources and support; example documents available to all members include ‘Helpful mentoring tips’ and ‘10-reminders for effecting mentoring’. These are resources designed for any chronus mentoring program but this resources tab (accessed via user home-page "Help Resources") will also include the RRN specific PICF's/Research Protocol. Chronus members can also access linked services at UQ including student support consultants for any extra information on mentoring and the specifics of the RRN. Participants can engage in an online ‘Discussion Board’, where participants can interact with each other. These are designed to be ‘peer-peer’ discussion boards, meaning there will be two separate discussion boards; a mentor only discussion board, and a mentee only discussion board. These discussion boards are designed to allow within group conversations, and participants can share their experience and ideas with others in the same group. As previously described, Chronus has an agreement with UQ and all members agree to abide by the rules and regulations, and code of conduct established by UQ, so we do not anticipate any problematic interactions through the discussion board, and thus we do not believe it requires strict monitoring. To further encourage participant engagement, mentors and mentees will receive emailed reminders at 3, 6 and 9 month time points, which will prompt users to meet up with their mentor/mentee. These reminders are strategically scheduled for times that are discrete from foreseeable high-stress events, including study weeks, assessment weeks, student graduation and public holidays and will include encouragement to meet with their mentor/mentee, suggestions to access help resources as necessary and to remind users how far into the 12 month relationship they are. At the halfway mark, participants will receive a reminder email with a short questionnaire to assess engagement and progress. To signify the conclusion and to ‘disengage’ from the RRN, users will be emailed a notification at the 10 and also 12-month marks to remind them of the timeframes of the program-supported relationship. These notifications will function as prompts, for example "this may be the last opportunity to meet up” with their respective mentors/mentees. It will also remind them that while this specific structured and supported relationship, through Chronus and the RRN will be terminated at 12-months, that there are other support and networking opportunities available through many avenues, including Queensland Health. This will be an opportunity for users to thank their mentoring buddies and to discuss if any ongoing communication, independent of the RRN, will be looked upon as being favourable in the future. After the 12-months they will receive a final farewell email which will also invite them to complete the post-RRN measures and invite them to a RRN “Finale” BBQ function. Both functions - the Launch and the BBQ will be held at TRI. The invitation to the Finale will be extended to all participants in the entire research project, including those that did not receive a mentor or mentee (the control group). We hope this will further strengthen links within the hospital system and allow participants to network with a wider group of colleagues. Please see the below section for details on the control group.