Mentor vs. mentee perceptions of career mentoring partnerships and work outcomes: A multi-institutional study of faculty mentoring programs

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction: Formal mentoring programs are a professional development approach to help junior faculty develop an academic medicine career. This study investigated the perceptions of mentors versus mentees in formal career mentoring partnerships across multiple institutions. Methods: The authors implemented departmental mentoring programs for junior faculty at four academic medical centers. They collected post-program data from mentors and mentees in order to examine the predictors of mentoring satisfaction, mentee outcomes, and work-related variables. Results: The pattern of relationships between the variables differed for mentors versus mentees. Mentoring focus, mentor accessibility and mentee initiative predicted partnership satisfaction and mentee progress. Partnerships that used a mentoring agreement reported greater progress and satisfaction. There were some relationships between partnership outcomes and work-related outcomes. While partnership satisfaction predicted job and administrative/leadership satisfaction for mentors, it predicted positive perceptions of the department's mentoring culture and professional development opportunities for mentees. Conclusions: The study identified unique antecedents and consequences of mentoring partnership satisfaction and mentee outcomes. The varying perspectives of mentors versus mentees indicated a need to clearly communicate partnership expectations and desired outcomes. Overall, the positive impact of formal mentoring programs on partnership and work-related outcomes was supported with implications for future programs and research.