Abstract

NAIDU, P  and  BUCCIMAZZA, I. Surgery in South Africa - the attitudes toward mentorship in facilitating general surgical training. S. Afr. j. surg. [online]. 2021, vol.59, n.3, pp.82-85. ISSN 2078-5151.  http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2078-5151/2021/v59n3a3597.

BACKGROUND: There are many barriers to pursuing a surgical career in South Africa, some of which are unique to females. Mentorship has been proposed as a solution to mitigate these barriers. The value of mentorship has not been formally assessed among South African general surgeons and traineesMETHODS: The study was part of a larger study designed to assess barriers to pursuing a career in surgery, including the value of mentorship. A 15-item questionnaire was designed and distributed via the Research Electronic Database Capture from 1 February 2020-3 April 2020. Data were analysed using Stata 15 SE. All responses were anonymisedRESULTS: One hundred and twenty-nine (13.5%) of 955 potential participants responded to the survey of which 26% (33/129) were female. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents were specialist surgeons (87/129). Seventy per cent (90/129) of participants reported having a role model in surgery, however, 66% (86/129) reported they had no mentor in surgery. 107/129 (83%) participants reported the importance of mentorship. The need for a formalised mentorship programme to facilitate surgical training was recorded by 60% (78/129) of participants, while 18% (23/129) reported the need for a mentorship group specifically for femalesCONCLUSION: Eighty-three per cent of participants reported the importance of mentorship however two-thirds lacked a mentor. Most participants advocated for a mentorship group to facilitate surgical training. Establishing formalised mentorship programmes could mitigate the barriers to pursuing a surgical career

Keywords : surgery; training; barriers; mentorship.

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