Could application of leader-member exchange theory have saved a residency mentorship program?

Jessica L. Bunin; Holly S. Meyer; Steven J. Durning

doi:10.1007/s40037-020-00584-2

Could application of leader-member exchange theory have saved a residency mentorship program?

Jessica L. Bunin, Holly S. Meyer, Steven J. Durning

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

40 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Mentorship may offer protégés numerous benefits including improved self-esteem, increased interest in research, and/or enhanced productivity. Without proper planning, reflection, and evaluation, however, mentorship programs may result in undesirable consequences. In this paper we describe a mentorship program designed to improve psychosocial support and professional development for residents, that while initially successful, was terminated due to perceptions of inequity that led to strife among residents and ultimately created a toxic learning climate. Leader-member exchange theory provides a lens through which to view our program’s failure and to offer some potential solutions to mitigate such challenges for other programs. Leader-member exchange theory focuses on the importance of relationships, communication, and awareness of biases to optimize interactions between dyads such as a mentor and a protégé. We highlight opportunities during the stranger, acquaintance, and mature partnership phases that could have helped to save a residency mentorship program.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	264-267
Number of pages	4
Journal	Perspectives on Medical Education
Volume	9
Issue number	4
Early online date	26 May 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-020-00584-2
Publication status	Published - 1 Aug 2020
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Keywords

Leadership
Mentorship
Residency program

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1007/s40037-020-00584-2Licence: CC BY

Published versionFinal published version, 325 KBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{2100c3f2d72743f499a893ffddd6edd6,

title = "Could application of leader-member exchange theory have saved a residency mentorship program?",

abstract = "Mentorship may offer prot{\'e}g{\'e}s numerous benefits including improved self-esteem, increased interest in research, and/or enhanced productivity. Without proper planning, reflection, and evaluation, however, mentorship programs may result in undesirable consequences. In this paper we describe a mentorship program designed to improve psychosocial support and professional development for residents, that while initially successful, was terminated due to perceptions of inequity that led to strife among residents and ultimately created a toxic learning climate. Leader-member exchange theory provides a lens through which to view our program{\textquoteright}s failure and to offer some potential solutions to mitigate such challenges for other programs. Leader-member exchange theory focuses on the importance of relationships, communication, and awareness of biases to optimize interactions between dyads such as a mentor and a prot{\'e}g{\'e}. We highlight opportunities during the stranger, acquaintance, and mature partnership phases that could have helped to save a residency mentorship program.",

keywords = "Leadership, Mentorship, Residency program",

author = "Bunin, {Jessica L.} and Meyer, {Holly S.} and Durning, {Steven J.}",

note = "This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article{\textquoteright}s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article{\textquoteright}s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.",

year = "2020",

month = aug,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1007/s40037-020-00584-2",

language = "English",

volume = "9",

pages = "264--267",

journal = "Perspectives on Medical Education",

issn = "2212-2761",