Peer mentoring: medical students’ perceptions of social support and the educational environment

Abstract:

Introduction:

Peer mentoring programs are seen as effective support for student transition to higher education, contributing to their mental health and academic performance.

Objective:

To measure and compare the perception of social support and evaluation of the educational environment among student members and non-members of the Grupo de Estudos em Didática Aplicada ao Aprendizado da Medicina (Study Group in Didactics Applied to Learning in Medicine - GEDAAM), on the undergraduate medicine course at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

Method:

Cross-sectional study using data from the crossover between QualiMed research data and GEDAAM records. Of the 1,470 students who participated in the QualiMed survey, 347 were associated to GEDAAM. The perception of social support was measured by the Social Support Satisfaction Scale (ESSS) and the educational environment assessment by the Dundee Ready Education Environment Measure (DREEM). Univariate descriptive and comparative analysis were performed using Pearson’s Chi-square and Student’s t-test, considering a p-value <0.05 to verify statistical significance. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 19.0.

Results:

A statistically significant difference was found between members and non-members in course stage, sex, sexual orientation, receipt of aid grants and practice of regular physical activity. GEDAAM participants had a worse perception when compared to non-members in all ESSS Domains, except for satisfaction with social activities (p-value <0.05). The educational environment was assessed by both groups as having “many problems” (score = 95.51 for GEDAAM members and 100.05 for non-members), with a statistically significant difference.

Conclusion:

A more critical profile was observed in relation to the perception of social support and the academic environment among students. It is suggested that peer mentoring positively helps the academic and personal path of medical students.

Keywords:
Peer Group; Social Support; Medical Education Undergraduate; Medical Students