9036 Background: Mentorship is a cornerstone of physician career development, linked to improved well-being, job satisfaction, research productivity, and faculty retention. Clinician educators often cite lack of mentorship as a major barrier to career advancement. We developed and piloted a year-long virtual mentorship program (VMP) with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for hematology/oncology (H/O) career development in medical education. Methods: We piloted the program during the 2024-2025 ASCO VMP cycle. Mentors and mentees applied via survey and were matched by committee members based on interests and goals. Each pair was required to complete a mentorship plan, including goals in three domains: professional development/course work, administrative/leadership experience, and scholarly output. We conducted an anonymous retrospective survey of participants via Qualtrics upon cycle completion. Surveys assessed: meeting cadence, satisfaction, goal attainment, and perceptions of career trajectory. Confidence in mentoring and knowledge growth related to pursuing a medical education career were assessed using a 5-point Likert scale with retrospective pre–post ratings. Paired scores were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test after excluding ties. Results: Thirty-eight mentors and 42 mentees participated in the pilot. Survey response rate was 40% (mentors: 36.8%, mentees: 42.9%). Most met monthly (mentors: 35.7%, mentees: 44.4%) or every 2-3 months (mentors: 42.9%, mentees: 38.9%). Satisfaction was high (mentors: 71.4% “very satisfied,” 21.4% “satisfied”; mentees: 66.7% “very satisfied,” 27.8% “satisfied”), and nearly all would recommend the program (mentors: 100%, mentees 94.4%). The mentorship plan was discussed by all, with the majority reporting goal achievement (mentors: 92.9%, mentees: 88.9%). Most plan for ongoing mentoring after cycle completion (mentors: 78.6%, mentees: 72.2%). All respondents reported improved perceptions of career trajectory, with all mentors and 92.9% of mentees expressing greater interest in medical education careers and all noting a higher perceived likelihood of success. Mentors’ confidence in mentoring increased by a mean of 0.29 on a 5-point scale, but the Wilcoxon test was non-significant (p = 0.22). Mentees’ knowledge of medical education careers increased significantly with a mean gain of 0.57 (p = 0.016). Conclusions: Our pilot medical education VMP was highly valued, with strong satisfaction, widespread goal attainment, improved perceptions of career trajectory, and plans for sustained relationships beyond the defined mentorship period. These findings support virtual mentorship as a feasible strategy for clinician educator career development within H/O. Collaboration with and organizational support from professional societies will be essential for scalable, sustainable program development.
Sigmund et al. (Thu,) studied this question.