Supportive mentoring behaviours in a public medical school

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate mentoring behaviours in a public medical school in Malaysia and examine factors associated with those mentoring behaviours. The study is important because effective mentoring promotes the personal and professional growth of mentees. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional study was conducted with a population of 632 medical students. The authors used the Mentor Behaviour Scale (MBS) to measure four domains of mentoring behaviour: mentoring relationship structure, engagement, autonomy support and competency support. The authors evaluated the scoring of these domains as high, moderate or low scores. Findings A total of 508 (80.4 per cent) medical students in Years 2–5 participated in this study. Mentoring relationship structure, engagement and competency support were perceived as moderate scores, whereas autonomy support was perceived as a low score. Students in the early phases of study had better attitudes regarding mentoring behaviours. More frequent meetings and longer duration of meetings were significantly associated with better attitudes towards mentoring behaviour. Originality/value This paper evaluates contemporary mentoring behaviours in a Malaysian public medical school and contributes to non-western literature on mentoring. These behaviours were reflected in the four domains of the theory-based MBS.