6496 Bridging the gaps: experience from the reverse mentoring programme for educational supervisors, Yorkshire and Humber (YH) deanery 2022/2023

Objectives International medical graduates (IMGs) face unique challenges that can hinder their academic and professional success, as emphasised by a collection of BMJ publications²–⁴ and a recent GMC report¹ that addressed challenges in medical education and training. A reverse mentoring programme was implemented by the Yorkshire and Humber (YH) deanery to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors contributing to differential attainment among IMGs and suggest possible strategies to address these disparities. Methods As part of YH's Reverse Mentoring Initiative, I committed as an IMG paediatric trainee to mentor a paediatric consultant who holds the role of RCPCH tutor and has willingly joined the project. In 6 months, in a series of regular meetings, we have discussed disparities IMGs face in training opportunities, exam results, work schedules, annual review of competency progression (ARCP) outcomes, subspecialty posts, workplace microaggressions, and racism. Furthermore, we have delved into matters concerning social life balance, immigration policies, tax and pension schemes, and professional indemnity membership. Results One recommendation from our inverted paradigm mentorship was for the YH paediatric school to set up a bi-annual portfolio and ARCP training sessions. Other advisements were the development of an IMG supervision module for educational supervisors and the publication of an updated regional IMG handbook. To break barriers with IMGs, healthcare trusts, and departments could enhance IMGs inductions, utilise Multifaith calendars to highlight religious holidays to facilitate Rota swaps, and establish local Buddy schemes. These schemes facilitate the advancement of IMGs in their training while addressing concerns related to microaggressions and racism. Our bi-directional learning was positive in both achieving a higher level of understanding of training dynamics and attainment gaps among IMGs and in the impactful changes at organisational levels. As a mentor, I gained valuable insights into my mentee's leadership style and expanded my professional network. I enrolled in the 2023/2024 reverse mentorship programme's differential attainment forum and will co-facilitate the current mentors to enhance the project's well-being component. Additionally, I am involved in an additional deanery project aimed at establishing a learning platform tailored for paediatric IMGs within Blackboard. Conclusion We hope that the few recommendations we made from our reverse mentorship version will narrow the gap of differential attainment within the IMG workforce. We believe that the implementation of similar schemes within local, regional, and national healthcare boards, will advocate equitable opportunities and foster an inclusive environment within the healthcare workforce. References Tackling disadvantage in medical education, General Medical Council, (2021). Madhok R. Racism in the NHS: we should focus on defining the question, BMJ 2022 April Powell RA, Njoku C, Elangovan R, Sathyamoorthy G, Ocloo J, Thayil S, Rao M. Tackling racism in UK health research, BMJ. 2022 Jan. Woolf K. Differential attainment in medical education and training, BMJ. 2020 Feb.