Championing women working in health across regional and rural Australia – a new dual-mentorship model

• Published in: BMC medical education Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 299 - 10
• Main Authors: Wozniak, Teresa M., Miller, Esther, Williams, Kevin J., Pickering, Amelia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 11.09.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Administrative Organization; Analysis; Australia; Career advancement; Career Development; Career development planning; Career Planning; Evaluation; Female; Female employees; Females; Formative Evaluation; Health Personnel; Humans; Individual Characteristics; Internet resources; Job Satisfaction; Leadership; Males; Medical education; Medical personnel; Medical research; Mentoring; Mentoring programs; Mentors; Mentorship; Needs Assessment; Networks; Opportunities; Personal Satisfaction; Physicians; Pilot Projects; Professional development; Program Administration; Program Development; Resource poor settings; Rural health care; Self Efficacy; Social Environment; Women; Women's health; Womens health; Workforce retainment; Workshops; Australia; Evaluation; Resource poor settings; Workforce retainment; Mentorship; Professional development
• DOI: 10.1186/s12909-020-02219-w
• ISSN: 1472-6920

Mentoring is a critical component of career development and job satisfaction leading to a healthier workforce and more productive outputs. However, there are limited data on mentorship models in regional areas and in particular for women aspiring to leadership positions. Mentorship programs that leverage off experienced mentors from diverse disciplines have the potential to foster the transfer of knowledge and to positively influence job satisfaction and build capacity within the context of workforce shortage. This study describes a dual-mentorship model of professional development for women working in health in regional and rural Australia. We present the framework and describe the evaluation findings from a 12-month pilot program. Both academic and corporate mentors provided diverse perspectives to the mentees during the 12-month period. On average, corporate mentors met with mentees more often, and focused these discussions on strategy and leadership skills whilst academic mentors provided more technical advice regarding academic growth. Mentees reported an improvement in workplace interconnectedness and confidence at the completion of the program. We developed a framework for establishing a professional mentorship program that matches women working in regional health with mentors from diverse sectors including business, government, philanthropy and health, to provide a holistic approach to improving career satisfaction, institutional productivity and supporting a diverse workforce in regional or resource-poor settings.