The Class Mentor Program at the University of Wisconsin Medical School: a unique and valuable asset for students and faculty

Abstract

There is a paucity of published data on mentor programs for medical students. The University of Wisconsin Medical School has 19 years of experience with a unique Class Mentor Program. A single mentor is dedicated to each class of incoming medical students. The mentor attends all classes in the first 2 years and varied clinical venues in later years, following the class all 4 years through graduation. The mentors appointed have been experienced physicians who tend to be in the later years of their careers. As of 2003, 16 such mentors have been appointed. One mentor has taken 2 classes. Available survey data from students who have graduated demonstrate that most graduates recall their own mentor to have been a positive influence to student medical training. A recent accreditation review commended the Class Mentor Program as a unique help to students and to medical school curriculum evaluation. Five of the more recent mentors describe herein their own assessment of the Class Mentor Program and they encourage other medical schools to consider such a program for their own institutions.

Full text

Wisconsin Medical Journal 2004 • Volume 103, No. 7
46
WISCONSIN MEDICAL JOURNAL
The Class Mentor Program at the
University of Wisconsin Medical School:
A Unique and Valuable Asset for
Students and Faculty
William E. Scheckler, MD; Gordon Tuffli, MD; Don Schalch, MD; Archie MacKinney, MD;
Edward Ehrlich, MD
All authors are former Class Mentors at the University of Wisconsin
Medical School. Please address correspondence to William E.
Scheckler, MD, Professor Emeritus, University of Wisconsin
Medical School, Department of Family Medicine, 777 S Mills St,
Madison, WI 53715; phone 608.263.4550; fax 608.263.5813; e-
mail wes@fammed.wisc.edu.
ABSTRACT
There is a paucity of published data on mentor programs
for medical students. The University of Wisconsin Medical
School has 19 years of experience with a unique Class
Mentor Program. A single mentor is dedicated to each
class of incoming medical students. The mentor attends all
classes in the first 2 years and varied clinical venues in later
years, following the class all 4 years through graduation.
The mentors appointed have been experienced physicians
who tend to be in the later years of their careers. As of
2003, 16 such mentors have been appointed. One mentor
has taken 2 classes. Available survey data from students
who have graduated demonstrate that most graduates re-
call their own mentor to have been a positive influence
to student medical training. A recent accreditation review
commended the Class Mentor Program as a unique help
to students and to medical school curriculum evaluation.
Five of the more recent mentors describe herein their own
assessment of the Class Mentor Program and they en-
courage other medical schools to consider such a program
for their own institutions.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this report is to provide a description
of a unique Class Mentor Program at the University of
Wisconsin Medical School (UW Medical School). This
paper updates information published
1
shortly after the
program began in 1985.
The program is unique because of the following:
1. Mentorship of an entire class of students for their
full four years by a single senior clinician
2. Dedication of 50% of the Class Mentor’s time to
the mentorship effort
3. Class Mentor attendance in first and second years
courses: lectures, small groups, and laboratories
4. Provision to course directors and curriculum de-
signers of a unique, integrated overall perspective
of the medical school curriculum and how the first
2 years integrate with each other and with the third
and fourth years
BACKGROUND FROM THE LITERATURE
A literature search on an Ovid medical search program
for papers published since 1990 about mentor programs
for medical students brought up 31 citations in English.
1
Twenty were from the United States or Canadian medi-
cal schools. Of these 20, only 6
2-7
were about mentor-
ing medical students as a group and 3
2-4
were focused
on under-represented minorities. Two
5,6
of the other
papers reviewed individual role models from a specific
specialty as mentors in clinical years.
One brief paper from the University of California
San Francisco
7
mentioned a comprehensive formal
structure of 5 mentors in 5 “advisory colleges” into
which the medical school classes were divided. This
program was begun to “counteract feelings of bu-
reaucratic anonymity and isolation” and “…to foster
the personal growth and well-being of students.” The
system provides 20% salary support for each of the 5
advisory college mentors who are carefully selected by
a committee chaired by the associate dean of student af-
fairs. The mentors meet individually with each student
in their college and then have bimonthly meetings with
small groups of students throughout the school year.
All of these meetings are incorporated into scheduled
curricular time for the students.
No other comprehensive mentoring programs for med-
ical students appear to have been published since 1990.

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WISCONSIN MEDICAL JOURNAL
Wisconsin Medical Journal 2004 • Volume 103, No. 7
THE UW MEDICAL SCHOOL
CLASS MENTOR PROGRAM
The UW program began in 1985 from an idea developed
by 2 senior faculty members. The UW Medical School
launched its class mentor program for first year medical
students in fall 1985. A 1990 paper by Lobeck and Stone
describing the program’s first 5 years details the initial
objectives of the program.
1
The objectives of the mentor program were to:
• Use senior clinical faculty to help students realize how
information and concepts they learn are important in the
practice of medicine and to help students understand the
decision-making in modern medical science.
• Report on the quality of the teaching and the medi-
cal student curriculum to the school’s faculty and ad-
ministration.
• Use respected senior faculty as advocates for incor-
porating innovative medical education concepts into
the school’s medical education program.
• Provide a consistent role model for student profes-
sionalization.
The purpose of this report is to provide an update of
this class mentor program from available data and the
experiences of 5 recent mentors—the authors of this
paper. The mentor program has been continuous since
1985, with the exception of 3 years.
There have been 16 class mentors to date, 5 from
the primary care fields of Family Medicine, Medicine
and Pediatrics, 8 from Medicine specialties and 1 each
from Anesthesia, Psychiatry and a Pediatric Specialty.
To date, 14 have been men and 2, including the mentor
for the Class of 2006, have been women. Fourteen have
been tenured faculty and 2 have been clinical faculty. All
but 1 have been full professors in rank (Table 1).
In 1993 mentors from 1985 to 1993 were surveyed
about the Class Mentor Program. The mentors reported
that:
• Class mentors were most important during the first 2
years of medical school.
• The presence of the class mentor improved the edu-
cational and the psychological experience for the ma-
jority of the medical students.
• The class mentors could effect needed curricular
change by their interaction with course directors and
the school’s Education Policy Council.
• Half-time was the right amount of time commitment;
less would be inadequate.
The group was divided as to how effective the class
mentor is in the clinical third and fourth years.
Finally, in preparing this report, the 5 authors an-
swered the following questions:
1. How did you become a class mentor?
2. What is your background in teaching/mentoring?
3. What value do you see in the program for the medi-
cal students, your faculty colleagues, and your-
selves?
4. Relate a couple of stories or vignettes that illustrate
your points from #3 above.
5. What are the drawbacks of the Class Mentor
Program, if any?
The following is a summary of the answers to these
questions.
BECOMING A CLASS MENTOR
The Associate Dean for Students selects the mentor
from candidates suggested by current class mentors,
chairs of departments, members of the medical school
administration, or who volunteer themselves. The au-
thors were interested in the position either through
their work with students and/or from conversations
with previous class mentors. The authors all were en-
thusiastic about the opportunity and they remain en-
thusiastic about the program. Most have continued to
remain active in their other “half-time” role—in clini-
cal, research, and/or other teaching activities. Note that
only 2 of 16 mentors have been women. This likely is a
cohort phenomenon as there were few women in medi-
cal school classes in the 1950s and 1960s. The mentor
Table 1. University of Wisconsin Medical School Class
Mentors
Name of Mentor Year Began Specialty
William Segar, MD 1985 Pediatrics
Robert Schilling, MD 1986 Medicine—Hematology
Frank Larson, MD* 1987 Medicine—Endocrinology &
Laboratory Medicine
Betty Bamforth, MD 1988 Anesthesia
George Rowe, MD 1989 Medicine—Cardiology
Benton Taylor, MD 1990 Medicine—Pulmonary
Leonard Stein, MD* 1991 Psychiatry
J.D. Kabler, MD* 1992 Medicine
Douglas Smith, MD 1993 Family Medicine
Edward Ehrlich, MD 1996 Medicine—Endocrinology
Gordon Tuffli, MD 1997 General Pediatrics &
Pediatric Endocrinology
Don Schalch, MD 1998 Medicine—Endocrinology
Archie MacKinney, MD 1999 Medicine—Hematology
William E. Scheckler, MD 2000 General Medicine &
2001 Infectious Diseases/Public
Health
Sandra Osborn, MD 2002 General Pediatrics
Carl B. Weston, MD 2003 General Internal Medicine &
Medical Administration
*Unable to stay with class through graduation

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48
for the class matriculating in 2002 is a woman and more
women should become available in the future. Of UW
medical students in classes matriculating from 1999 to
2003, 402 (56.7%) have been women.
From 1985 to 1993, the Class Mentors were provided
half of their base university salaries (not counting com-
pensation from clinical practice) from the general medi-
cal school budget. No mentors began in 1994 or 1995
at the decision of the second dean involved in the pro-
gram. The program was restarted in 1996 by a new dean
and was funded at a more modest rate of $12,000 per
year for the first through the third year of each mentor’s
class. In a few cases, the mentor’s “home” department
made up the difference between the new rate and 50%
of base salary. This modest funding has not been a de-
terrent to recruiting class mentors.
CLASS MENTOR BACKGROUND
IN TEACHING AND/OR MENTORING
Class mentor experience teaching medical students and
residents was substantial prior to appointments as Class
Mentors. The 5 authors had been teaching medical stu-
dents, residents, and fellows for 30-43 years. In addition
they had a variety of experiences as academic advisors,
mostly for fellows but occasionally for small groups of
medical students. As senior faculty members, they had
served on many review and advisory committees for the
more junior members of their departments.
These past experiences provided the mentors with
a rich variety of students and challenges on which to
build in performing their role as class mentor. The
teaching experience enhances their value as evaluators
of courses and teaching strategies, and sensitizes them
to many of the challenges facing colleagues teaching in
lectures, small groups, and in clinical settings.
PERCEIVED VALUES OF THE CLASS
MENTOR PROGRAM
For Medical Students
The authors are convinced that the presence of an expe-
rienced clinician in lecture, small group, and lab settings
for the first 2 years is helpful in a variety of ways. For
example, the class mentor can provide clinical vignettes
and clinical correlations, connecting basic science con-
cepts with clinical problems. Their presence in the anat-
omy dissection lab has proven satisfying because their
understanding of pathology complements the anatomy
colleague’s knowledge of normal structures and their
variants. Table 2 summarizes many of the class mentor
activities through the 4 years of medical school. This
will provide a sense of the myriad ways mentors have
found to connect with the students.
For some students, the Class Mentor Program was
crucial in their decision to choose the UW Medical
School. The program is a recruiting tool for the deans.
The students also find class mentors valuable as se-
nior colleagues to whom they can turn for advice—per-
sonal or academic. They enjoy having the class mentor
at social functions and they seek out their clinical and
personal stories. Although some of the authors do not
Table 2. Class Mentor Activities and Programs
For the first and second year students:
1. Attend lectures and selected small groups.
2. Be present during gross anatomy dissection labs.
3. Provide clinical case vignettes related to basic science lec-
tures.
4. Answer clinical questions raised by students or faculty col-
leagues during lectures or small groups whenever possible,
depending on the mentor’s background.
5. Participate in monthly first and second year Course
Directors Meeting, both for feedback and future planning
interactions.
6. Be available to students informally between classes, in
labs, or in an office to listen, problem solve, and counsel or
refer to the proper resources needed.
7. Attend social functions for the students.
8. Read excerpts to the class from literature on the philoso-
phy and values of medicine.
9. Establish a lunch break twice a month where students can
voluntarily perform music or share their own travel stories—
about a third of the students have musical talent.
10. Invite students in small groups to the mentor’s home for
dinner.
Just “be there” for the students, during their initial orientation to
Medical School through their first 2 years.
For the third and fourth year students:
1. Attend small group sessions, grand rounds, and other ac-
tivities based in Madison hospitals, depending on mentor’s
skills and background.
2. Travel to the affiliate programs in Wisconsin for 1 day or
overnight stays to attend rounds and conferences during
the Med 3 year.
3. Continue to attend student social functions when they
occur.
4. Be present during Med 3 “Core Days” when all the students
get back to the Madison campus for special learning ses-
sions.
5. Be present during residency “match day” in March for Med
4s.
6. Be present during honors convocation and all of the activi-
ties of graduation week.
7. Briefly speak at the graduation “hooding” ceremony of the
mentor’s own class.
8. Consider inviting groups over to the mentor’s home.
9. Continue to provide feedback to the Academic Deans about
the third and fourth year courses.

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view themselves principally as advocates for either the
students or the school, mentors tend to be viewed by
the students as thoughtful intermediaries.
For Faculty Colleagues and Administration
Mentors offer a unique academic resource by provid-
ing comprehensive first-hand appraisal of the medical
school curriculum. Since they spend half of their time
with students in their courses, they have a comprehen-
sive view of the curriculum, and can assess and advise
on the correlation between courses. They are able to see
successful teaching practices and advise on possible im-
provement.
Mentors can provide their views on the courses to the
academic deans and the course directors in a variety of
ways. For example, mentors are asked by some course
directors for specific feedback about their courses.
Mentors can also submit written curriculum evaluation
summaries at the end of each academic year, or can at-
tend the course directors’ monthly meetings with the
academic dean and education staff. Class mentors usu-
ally meet once or twice a year to compare notes, share
ideas, and focus on courses where more improvement
is warranted.
Examples of course changes initiated by class men-
tors include the expansion of case-based small group
learning into all of the second year pathophysiology
courses, improvement in the structure and lecture se-
quence of Pathology, and the integration of Histology
into the Gross Anatomy classes.
For Ourselves
Four of the authors have now completed our 4 years
as class mentor. One is currently mentor for third and
fourth year students. The best way to describe our uni-
versal enthusiasm for the Class Mentor Program is with
verbatim comments:
“The Mentor Program has been the zenith of my
own career, the most rewarding experience of my
entire academic life.”
“…the mentor gets more in return than can be
given.”
“It’s an experience that must be lived to be be-
lieved; it’s like finding 140+ new friends all at
once.”
“I love it. It’s the best job I ever had. What makes
it especially fun for me is the quality, energy, and
commitment of the students.”
Except for serious illness, all of the Mentors have
stayed with their class the full 4 years, despite only a
modest honorarium. The lack of dropout is due to select-
ing senior clinicians in their 60s who have demonstrated
a proclivity for student teaching. The enthusiasm each
of the authors and their predecessor class mentors have
had for “their class” may help explain the low attrition
rate for this program at the University of Wisconsin.
Student Comments
In May 2000, a perceptive former student summarized
well how mentors should view their functions:
“I think a good Class Mentor is someone who is
visibly present during class time, both during busy
and tough times AND during slow and less rigor-
ous times. As a student, the best way I could tell if
our mentor cared and if he was interested was if I
saw him at class, contributing his input during lec-
ture/small group, and popping his head in during
small group. Other important factors are getting
to know everyone’s name and general story, being
available to talk about an issue, school-related
or personal, being present at some of the social
functions, putting a clinical and real-life oriented
perspective on what we learn from books/lecture,
sharing his own experiences and enormous wis-
dom, showing his own personal side, and help-
ing us keep all the studying and pressure in per-
spective, especially around exam time and Boards
time.”
A student at the end of the second year commented
to the Class Mentor:
“I would like to thank you for your contribution
to guiding my fellow classmates and me into this
period of discovery and change. It is important to
have someone who has been there before lead the
way and provide an example. As our Virgil, you
have shown us a path through strenuous times.
You have given us focus with your clinical cor-
relations and you have reminded us to broaden
our horizons with your dedication to the arts
and humanities. Your presence at events so dis-
parate as the candlelight vigil for universal health
care and Friday parties has shown us that there is
much more to the life of a physician than medi-
cine. Social concerns, love of family, and love of
life have all been demonstrated by you as equally
important. Again, thank you for dedicating the
time to being our mentor. If you have grown and
changed even one hundredth of the amount that

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I have in the past 2 years, I’m certain you would
have found your time with us fulfilling. Thank
you, and I hope to see you in the next 2 years.”
In 1997, graduates from 1989 to 1996 were surveyed
(N=1087). Of the 360 respondents, 66% indicated that
their class mentor had had a positive impact on their
career.
8
DISCUSSION
In 2002, the UW Medical School was reviewed by the
Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).
In its letter, providing a full 8 years of accreditation,
the review group specifically noted the UW Class
Mentor Program as one of the significant strengths of
the school.
9
The letter stated: “The class mentor pro-
gram that allows a practicing physician to take classes
alongside students is a distinctive and creative approach
that provides the dual benefits of well-formed student
counseling and useful feedback about the educational
program.”
The flexibility of the program allows the class men-
tor to decide how and when to spend “half-time” with
the class. Although the authors have all provided some
feedback about the curriculum to their colleagues, the
extent and form of this has varied. There is no specific
evaluation process of or for the mentor. Unfortunately,
there is a paucity of survey data from students after
graduation to validate the substantial individual feed-
back the students have provided the authors about the
genuine value of this program.
The value of the program during the first 2 years is
clear. The strategies for the third year vary from a men-
tor sitting in on the variety of clinical rotations to vis-
iting the Med 3s in the 3 major out-of-Madison loca-
tions (La Crosse, Marshfield, and Milwaukee). There
is now a consensus among students and mentors that
the Class Mentor Program is important for the Med 3
year. Because of the diffusion of electives for the Med 4
year, the student connection with the mentor becomes
more challenging. However, the Residency Match Day
in March and Graduation in May are highlights of the
medical school year for students and mentors alike.
During the duration of the Class Mentor Program,
the UW Medical School has used a variety of strategies
to allow students to have individual or small group men-
tors based on student interest and faculty volunteers.
This is most often based on specialty interest. In addi-
tion, there is an extensive student support and academic
advising service available through the Office of the
Dean of Students. The Class Mentor Program is quite
different from these. By becoming part of the overall
group dynamic of the class, both within the courses and
socially, the class mentor shares the medical student ex-
perience in a unique and, we believe, useful way.
Medicine has become increasingly complex. The vol-
ume of basic and clinical science can seem overwhelm-
ing. Interpersonal structures can be disturbed. The men-
tor is perhaps the only faculty member with whom UW
students have spent more than 1 month. However, it is
unrealistic to expect that 1 individual, no matter how
experienced or interested, will be able to connect with
all students at all times. Student needs and personali-
ties differ. Given this, it is remarkable how well the UW
Medical School Class Mentor Program has worked to
date.
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