Medical Education and Professional Development

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3 . 2025

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES ALUMNI AND STUDENTS: ESTABLISHING MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS IN HIGHER MEDICAL EDUCATION. A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Introduction. Mentorship is becoming one of the key practices supporting the professional and personal development of students and young professionals worldwide. While alumni-based mentoring programs are successfully implemented in many international medical schools, this format has not yet gained systematic traction in the Russian medical education system.

Aim – to assess the impact of an alumni mentoring program at a medical faculty on the professional development, motivation, and psycho-emotional well-being of medical students, as well as to identify effective organizational models and success factors for implementing mentorship programs in medical education.

Material and methods. A prospective pilot study was conducted at the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of the Medical Research and Educational Institute Lomonosov Moscow State University with the participation of 55 students and 14 alumni mentors. Students were divided into an intervention group (n=25; worked with a mentor) and a control group (n=30). The program included personalized mentor–mentee matching, structured training for both groups, and regular meetings over a 5-month period. Outcomes were evaluated using validated scales (HADS, PSS-10) and a specially developed questionnaire assessing professional and psycho-emotional experience.

Results. The mentoring program proved to be in high demand and received positive evaluations from participants: 82% of students with mentors rated their progress above 7 out of 10; 65% reported achieving their mentorship goals during the project, and 96% said they would recommend the program to their peers. Among mentors, 93% would recommend participation to colleagues, and 64% rated their mentees’ progress above 7 out of 10. In the intervention group, the proportion of students who felt adequately informed about professional growth opportunities increased fourfold, from 16 to 60.9% (p=0.004). No significant differences were found in the control group.

Conclusion. The implementation and piloting of a structured alumni mentoring program for medical students demonstrated high demand and significant potential to support students’ professional development. The findings support the feasibility and value of further development and broader adoption of alumni mentorship systems in Russian medical education.

Keywords: medical education; mentorship; alumni; higher education institution; students

Funding. The study had no sponsor support.

Conflict of interest. The authos declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Veldanova M.V., Vorontsova M.V., Kazanfarova M.A., Krasilnikova E.S., Glazkova P.A. Alumni and students: establishing mentoring relationships in higher medical education. A pilot study. Meditsinskoe obrazovanie i professional’noe razvitie [Medical education and professional development]. 2025; 16 (3): 52–93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33029/2220-8453-2025-16-3-52-93 (in Russian)

Introduction

In recent decades, mentoring has become one of the key practices for supporting the professional and personal development of students in higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world [1-3]. Mentoring in a general sense is a universal technology for transferring experience, knowledge, developing skills, competencies, metacompetencies, and values through informal mutually enriching communication based on trust and partnership [4]. Mentoring contributes to the development of both professional competencies and understanding of career trajectories in students, as well as adaptation to the requirements of the modern labor market [5, 6].

Mentoring is of particular importance in medical education, where the transition from theoretical knowledge to clinical practice is accompanied by high emotional and professional stress [2, 7]. Research shows that participation in mentoring programs has a positive effect on the academic performance, motivation and confidence of medical students, and also contributes to the formation of sustainable professional communities [2, 3]. Thus, EMPACT program in the United States demonstrated that after participating in the mentoring program, the number of students who felt ready for clinical rotations more than doubled (from 28 to 65%), and the feeling of belonging to a professional community increased from 79 to 94% [8].

One of the mentoring options is programs in which alumni of medical higher education institutions (alumni) act as mentors for students. This mentoring format seems particularly promising, since the involvement of alumni helps to strengthen professional ties between generations and develop a culture of mutual assistance within a medical faculty or university. Similar programs are successfully implemented by a number of foreign medical educational institutions [9-11].

Mentoring has deep historical roots in Russian medicine [12]. In recent years, interest in mentoring programs has increased significantly both at the level of individual educational institutions and in state initiatives. [13, 14]. In particular, in May 2025, the Government of the Russian Federation approved the Concept for the Development of Mentoring in the Country for the Period up to 2030 [15]. However, most available mentoring programs in medicine are focused primarily on young specialists rather than students. In addition, domestic medical education does not yet have a systematic and large-scale practice in which university alumni act as mentors for students, forming a school of continuity within the educational institution.

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of a mentoring program involving medical alumni on the professional development, motivation and psycho-emotional emotional state of medical students, as well as to identify effective organizational models and factors for the successful implementation of mentoring programs in medical education.

Study objectives:

development and testing of an educational mentoring program for students and alumni of the faculty of medicine;
development of tools for assessing the effectiveness of a mentoring program for students;
evaluation of the dynamics of professional development, motivation and psycho-emotional emotional state of program participants;
analysis of factors contributing to the successful implementation of mentoring projects in medical education.

Materials and methods

Study design. A five-month prospective pilot study was conducted to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a mentoring program for students of the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of the Medical Scientific and Educational Institute, Lomonosov Moscow State University.

The study involved 55 students from the 1^st to the 6^th course and 14 alumni of the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine. Students were recruited by posting information about the project on the official social networks of the faculty. It is noteworthy that the required number of students was recruited within two hours from the announcement moment, which indirectly indicates a high need for mentoring among students.

The students were divided into 2 groups:

Intervention group (n=25): the participants completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the project, trained and worked with mentors for five months.

Control group (n=30): the participants completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the project, but did not interact with mentors; the group was used for comparative analysis.

The project involved 14 alumni of the Faculty of Fundamental Medicine of Moscow State University (3 men and 11 women) who had significant professional experience and successful career trajectories in medicine, science, education, and management. The group of mentors included leading specialists in various fields of healthcare, mostly with academic degrees: 11 participants were candidates of science, two were doctors of science. Most of the mentors held leadership and expert positions, such as heads of departments, chief physicians, heads of laboratories, associate professors, and directors. The median time since graduation was 13.5 years [11.5; 17.5]. Twenty-one percent of the participants had mentoring experience before participating in the project. Each mentor supervised one or two students.

Personalized selection of mentor-student pairs was carried out by the project organizers taking into account how students’ requests match mentors’ competencies.

All participants completed a specially designed training program, as well as a questionnaire before and after the project. During the study, four meetings of students with mentors were planned in a format convenient for both parties (online or in person).

A schematic representation of the study design is shown in Figure 1.

All study participants signed informed voluntary consent for personal data processing.

As part of the project, SKOLKOVO Healthcare Development Centre (SKOLKOVO HDC) developed a specialized educational program aimed at formation and development of mentoring competencies.

The student training included one 3-hour online session covering mentoring foundations and key principles and development of skills for effective mentoring and professional self-determination.

A series of four educational online meetings (3 hours each) was organized for mentors, during which participants mastered modern approaches to partner and supportive mentoring, practical tools to develop soft skills, support for students’ professional and career growth. After completing the main course, mentors were provided with two supportive meetings with lecturers from SKOLKOVO HCD, aimed at discussing issues and exchanging experiences.

A summary of the educational modules for both groups is presented in Appendix 1.

Survey of study participants. At the beginning and end of the project, students and mentors completed a comprehensive questionary aimed at assessing their expectations, participation experience, as well as changes in their psycho-emotional state and professional guidelines.

Mentor survey included:

· collection of information for professional and personal profile of the participant;

· analysis of expectations from participation and reflection on the results of the project.

Student survey included:

· collection of demographic data and information for personal profile of the participant;

· analysis of expectations from participation and reflection on the results of the project;

· Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) [16, 17];

· Perceived Stress Scale, PSS-10 [18];

· comprehensive questionnaire to identify professional and psycho-emotional experience of medical students.

Development of questionnaire to identify professional and psycho-emotional experience of medical students

At the planning stage of the study, six in-depth interviews were conducted with MSU FFM alumni, lasting at least 30 minutes. Based on the data obtained, a questionnaire was created to assess key aspects of educational and psycho-emotional experience of medical students. The questionnaire includes 23 statements and allows for a comprehensive diagnosis of three main areas of student experience:

· level of knowledge and self-confidence;

· motivation and attitude towards learning;

· feelings of isolation and received support.

· The full text of the questionnaire is provided in Appendix 2.

Statistical methods. Statistical analysis was performed using MS Excel 2016, JASP v.0.18.3 (University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2024). Descriptive statistics of the analyzed group are presented as percentages for qualitative variables. For unrelated samples, the analysis of qualitative indicators was performed using Pearson’s chi-squared test with continuity correction in the case of 2×2 tables, Fisher’s exact test. For related samples, the analysis of qualitative indicators was performed using McNemar test with continuity correction in the case of 2×2 tables. Differences were considered statistically significant at p<0.05

Results and discussion

Characteristics of student groups. Requests for mentoring.

Table 1 describes the profile of students included in the study.

Comparison of students who participated in the project and the control group before the project showed that the groups did not differ in demographic, educational and psycho-emotional characteristics. Requests for mentoring, as well as the level of motivation and the feeling of social support were similar in both groups. This indicates the comparability of the initial conditions, which allows an objective assessment of the impact of mentoring project on further changes in students.

According to survey results (Fig. 2), the most popular request for mentoring among the participants was associated with career development (64%). A significant portion of students also highlighted interest in scientific publications and conferences (46%), professional self-realization (38%) and development of key soft-skills (36%).

Despite the fact that absolutely all students demonstrated a medium or high level of stress and overstress according to the results of the PSS-10 survey (see Fig. 1), psychological self-help skills were the least in demand among the requests they stated. The data obtained indicate a pronounced gap between the students’ objective need for skill development and their subjective assessment of the importance of these skills.

According to a meta-analysis on mentoring in medical education, professional development is the most common goal of mentoring programs implemented in Europe and the Middle East, with 89.5% of programs noting this aspect. In 31.6% of cases, emotional well-being and psychosocial support of participants are also mentioned among the goals. The US shows a different trend: only 11.8% of studies highlight psychosocial support as a priority goal of mentoring programs [2].

Although students do not always formulate an explicit request for psychological self-help tools, test results, which revealed high levels of stress and overstress, indicate the need to integrate psychological self-help methods into the training of mentors, which they could deliver to their mentees.

It is worth noting that one of the key requests from students was development in the scientific field. The implementation of this request can be mutually beneficial for both students and mentors themselves. As an example, we can cite a scientific study dedicated to the research mentoring program for young doctors and medical students in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Melbourne [19]. Over the course of 10 years, the program provided early engagement of students in research activities: 81% of mentees published at least one scientific article, got scholarships, and were subsequently accepted to cardiothoracic training. The authors note that academic mentoring contributed not only to the professional growth of participants, but also to maintaining a high level of research activity throughout the unit [19].

Comparison of students with and without medical relatives

The conducted subanalysis showed that among students without relatives in medicine, 89.3% have clear goals for the future related to the medical profession, while among students with family medical traditions - only 48.1% (p=0.003). This may indicate that independent choice of profession contributes to greater certainty and purposefulness in professional development.

Also, students who do not have close relatives in medicine are significantly more likely to request career development (78.6 vs 48.1%, p=0.039), while students with family medical traditions have a higher interest in soft skills development (51.9 vs 21.4%, p=0.039). This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that students with relatives in medicine partially satisfy their request for career counselling through communication with family members working in the medical field. The comparison also showed a significant difference in the feeling of availability of support. Among students from medical families, 92.6% noted that they can ask for help in case of difficulties, while among students without relatives in medicine, this figure is significantly lower and makes 64.3% (p=0.027). This emphasizes the importance of developing a support system for students who do not have family ties in the medical field, i.e. a mentor could potentially take on the function of such a “close person in medicine”.

Comparison of senior and junior students

In general, the needs of senior and junior students coincided, but senior students tended to be more interested in career development (72.2 vs 47.4%, p=0.127). Self-assessment of knowledge and level of self-confidence practically did not differ between these groups. At the same time, senior students were significantly more likely to have hobbies and interests outside of academic activities (97.2 vs 68.4%, p=0.005), and were also more actively involved in student life and more often had a private life (86.1 vs 52.6%, p=0.010).

Comparison of students living with parents and independently

In the subanalysis conducted between students living with parents and those living independently or in a dormitory, no statistically significant differences were found in the main analyzed indicators, which is probably due to the small sample size. However, certain trends were observed: students living with parents more often demonstrated an increased level of stress (74.1 vs 50%, p=0.119) and more often reported being overwhelmed by their studies (40.7 vs 17.9%, p=0.116). At the same time, students living without parents more often felt prepared for professional activity (57.1 vs 29.6%, p=0.074) and more often noted the opportunity to seek help if difficulties arose (89.3 vs 66.7%, p=0.088).

The higher levels of stress and overstress among students living with parents may be related to less independence and limited opportunities to expand their social support network.

The obtained results complement the data from the world literature. Thus, in the study by S. Slimman et. al., on a sample of 875 university students it was shown that pressure from the family has a significant negative impact on the mental well-being of students [20]. It is known that not only academic but also family stress can lead to mental depression among students, negatively affecting their academic performance [21]. It was also shown that the presence of social support from friends for students is significantly associated with greater efficiency [22].

Mentoring results, progress assessment by mentors

Upon completion of the project, a comprehensive analysis of feedback from mentors was conducted, which allowed identifying key barriers, success factors, and evaluating the effectiveness of the program from the mentors’ perspective (Fig. 3). All 14 mentors included in the study completed the study and took part in the survey.

Most mentors held three or more meetings with students (76%), noted high student engagement (76%), and rated their mentees’ progress above 7 on a 10-point scale (64%). Students’ achievement of goals was also highly rated by 56% of mentors, and 71% of mentors rated their own role in the project above 7. Almost all, mentors (93%) would recommend participation in the project to their peers, indicating high satisfaction with the program and its importance for professional community.

The results demonstrate that mentors perceive the project as an effective tool for student development and note the pronounced progress and students involvement. At the same time, the key barriers to the successful implementation of mentoring remain the lack of time for both parties, insufficient motivation of some students, as well as the lack of understanding of the goals and significance of participation in such programs among some students. The high level of recommendations from mentors confirms the potential for scaling and further development of such programs in medical education.

It is worth noting that mentoring is a two-way process, and scientific research confirms that mentoring contributes not only to the development of mentees, but also to the professional, personal and career growth of mentors [23, 24].

Mentoring results, assessment of progress by the students

The project was completed by 23 students from the intervention group (2 quitted) and 23 students from the control group (7 quitted). The groups were comparable in terms of main characteristics given in Table 1, which confirms the methodological correctness of the comparative analysis of the groups.

As Fig. 4 shows, the majority of students (82%) rated their progress above 7 on a 10-point scale. It is worth noting that there is a clear gap between students’ self-assessment of progress (82%) and mentors’ assessment of their progress (64%), indicating different success criteria and expectations. This gap is useful to consider when setting goals and evaluating mentoring results.

Almost all participants (96%) would recommend the program to their peers, indicating high satisfaction and the importance of mentoring for students’ professional development.

The results demonstrate that despite existing time constraints and external circumstances, the mentoring program promotes high engagement and significant subjective progress among students.

The results of the survey aimed at analyzing the professional and psycho-emotional experience of medical students (Appendix 1) showed that the most pronounced changes were recorded in awareness of opportunities for further professional growth (Fig. 5). In the group of participants, the proportion of students who felt sufficiently informed about opportunities for professional growth significantly increased almost fourfold, from 16.0 to 60.9% (p=0.004). In the control group, a similar indicator increased twofold (from 23.3 to 47.8%, p=0.182), but in the control group this increase did not reach statistical significance. The increase in awareness in the control group may be associated with the cross-pollination effect or active practical work of students beyond the project. At the same time, the basic level of social support among students was initially high and did not change significantly as a result of participation in the project.

Analysis of students’ self-assessment on Motivation and attitude towards learning and Level of knowledge and self-confidence did not reveal any significant differences in the dynamics of changes between the groups (Fig. 6).

However, several interesting trends can be noted that require testing in larger samples.

Among the project participants, the proportion of students who believed that the scores and attitudes of teachers corresponded to their level of knowledge increased from 80.0 to 91.3%, while in the control group this percentage remained virtually unchanged (Fig. 6A). The increase in this indicator among the project participants may indicate that interaction with mentors contributed to the formation of a more realistic self-perception, as well as improved communication skills with teachers. Mentors with significant professional experience and ability to build partnerships could help students better understand the criteria for academic assessment and learn to respond constructively to feedback.

In the intervention group, following the results of the project, a decrease in the proportion of students with hobbies and interests beyond learning was observed (from 92.0 to 78.3%) (see Figure 6A). Such dynamics may be due to the fact that students in the control group devoted more time to practical training during the study period, while participants in the intervention group were involved in interaction with mentors, which partially displaced the time allocated for personal interests and non-academic activities.

This trend raises some concerns and issues of potential risk of developing an unhealthy balance between training, professional development and private life for students involved in intensive mentoring programs. This highlights the need to pay more attention to burnout prevention and support for students’ personal interests within mentoring. In the future, it is recommended to integrate special modules into mentoring programs aimed at developing time management skills, self-regulation and maintaining a balance between professional and personal goals.

As can be seen from Figure 6B, the control group showed a tendency to decrease motivation for learning, interest, and confidence in choosing a profession, while these indicators remained stable or even increased slightly among the project participants. Despite the fact that the project participants had less time for rest and their workload increased, they were able to maintain a high level of learning motivation and interest. This may indicate the protective role of mentoring, allowing students to maintain internal stability and professional orientation even under increased workload.

In the control group, after the project, there was a tendency for high levels of overstress, anxiety and stress to increase, while in the students who participated in mentoring, these indicators remained stable. This may indicate a potential positive impact of mentoring on the emotional state of students. At the same time, objectively, none of the groups showed a significant decrease in anxiety, mental depression, and stress, assessed with PSS-10 and HADS. This confirms the above-mentioned idea about the need to introduce psychological self-help methods into the mentoring program, which they deliver to their mentees.

In summary, the pilot project demonstrated that alumni-based mentoring systems for medical students are a promising approach that could potentially be beneficial for both students and mentors.

It can be assumed that correct and personalized selection of mentor-mentee pairs, carried out taking into account the needs of students and the professional experience of mentors contributed greatly to the effectiveness of the pilot program. Literature data confirm that the coincidence of academic and cultural interests significantly enhances the quality and effectiveness of mentoring relationships [25].

At the same time, when scaling the program, personalized selection in manual mode may become difficult. To solve this problem, it is advisable to consider alternative approaches, such as creation of specialized mentor databases and automated selection of pairs based on key characteristics and individual requests of participants.

It should be emphasized that the key factor in the effectiveness of mentoring programs is the existence of a trusting relationship and contact between the mentor and the mentee. [26] In our project, this was facilitated by prior training and one-on-one interaction, which has been shown in the literature to be more effective than group mentoring models [27]. In addition, most mentors, despite holding leadership positions, were under 45 years of age (median years since graduation 13.5 [11.5; 17.5]), which contributed to a more informal and trusting communication style. This is consistent with research indicating that younger professionals can have a particularly significant impact on students as mentors, as they often have a better understanding of students’ current personal and professional needs [3].

Conclusion

The pilot project demonstrated a significant increase in awareness of opportunities for further professional growth among students who took part in the project (from 16.0 to 60.9%, p=0.004). The results highlight the importance of mentoring with alumni as a tool for increasing professional awareness and forming career guidelines in medical education. The project received a positive response from both mentors (93% of mentors would recommend participation in the project to their peers) and students (96% of students would recommend participation in the project to their peers).

Educational program

An educational mentoring program for students and alumni of the Faculty of Medicine has been developed and tested (Appendix 1). Based on the results of the pilot, it was recommended to integrate special modules into the program structure aimed at developing skills in psychological self-help, burnout prevention, as well as time management, self-regulation and maintaining a balance between professional and personal goals. This step is due to the identified contradiction: despite the fact that all students experience stress (50.9% - high level), and a third of them experience anxiety, only 5% of students formulate requests for mentoring on psychological self-help issues, 13% on burnout prevention. This situation requires targeted attention to these and related topics within the mentoring programs.

Mentoring effectiveness assessment tool

During the project implementation, a special questionnaire was developed and tested to assess key aspects of educational and psycho-emotional experience of medical students (Appendix 2). The tool allows identifying strengths and problems in the educational environment, assessing the degree of professional confidence, the level of motivation, and the quality of social and academic support.

The introduction of specialized training for students and mentors, as well as the use of tools for objective assessment of mentoring effectiveness, are important factors in the successful implementation and integration of mentoring practices involving alumni.

The additional sub-analyses were conducted during the study and trends that require further examination were identified.

Mentoring protective function

The control group showed a tendency to decrease motivation and confidence indicators, while the project participants maintained these indicators even with the increased workload. This indicates that mentoring can have not only a developmental but also a protective function for professional motivation.

The Paradox of Living Independently

A trend was found that students living without parents demonstrated greater professional confidence and better access to support than those living with family. This contradicts the traditional idea of family as the main source of support and may indicate the importance of developing independent social networks in the professional environment.

Purposefulness and family ties in the medical environment

Students without close relatives in medicine were almost twice as likely to have clear goals for the future compared to their peers from medical families (89.3 vs 48.1%, p=0.003). This phenomenon is probably due to the fact that independent choice of profession contributes to the formation of a more conscious internal motivation and the desire to achieve professional goals.

Thus, the results of the implementation and testing of a structured mentoring program for medical students indicate its high demand and significant potential in supporting the professional development of students. The data obtained substantiate the prospects for further development and expansion of mentoring systems involving alumni in Russian medical education.

Appendix 1

The appendix contains the program that mentors mastered as part of the pilot project, however, taking into account the results of the study, it was decided to supplement the mentor training program with a separate lesson dedicated to mastering psychological self-help techniques and stress management methods.

Training program for mentors in techniques and tools for working with students

Kick-off meeting

Purpose of the kick-off meeting is to create a common understanding of goals and values of the mentoring program, define the roles and responsibilities of mentors and mentees, and lay the foundation for effective, trusting, and partnership-based interactions in pairs.