Doctoral training in Uganda: evaluation of mentoring best practices at Makerere university college of health sciences
Loading...
Date
2014
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC Medical Education
Abstract
Good mentoring is a key variable for determining success in completing a doctoral program. We
identified prevailing mentoring practices among doctoral students and their mentors, identified common
challenges facing doctoral training, and proposed some solutions to enhance the quality of the doctoral training
experience for both candidates and mentors at Makerere University College of Health Sciences (MakCHS).
Methods: This cross-sectional qualitative evaluation was part of the monitoring and evaluation program for
doctoral training. All doctoral students and their mentors were invited for a half-day workshop through the MakCHS
mailing list. Prevailing doctoral supervision and mentoring guidelines were summarised in a one-hour presentation.
Participants were split into two homogenous students’ (mentees’) and mentors’ groups to discuss specific issues
using a focus group discussion (FGD) guide, that highlighted four main themes in regard to the doctoral training
experience; what was going well, what was not going well, proposed solutions to current challenges and perceived
high priority areas for improvement. The two groups came together again and the note-takers from each group
presented their data and discussions were recorded by a note-taker.
Results: Twelve out of 36 invited mentors (33%) and 22 out of 40 invited mentees (55%) attended the workshop.
Mentors and mentees noted increasing numbers of doctoral students and mentors, which provided opportunities
for peer mentorship. Delays in procurement and research regulatory processes subsequently delayed students’
projects. Similarly, mentees mentioned challenges of limited; 1) infrastructure and mentors to support basic science
research projects, 2) physical office space for doctoral students and their mentors, 3) skills in budgeting and finance
management and 4) communication skills including conflict resolution. As solutions, the team proposed skills’
training, induction courses for doctoral students-mentor teams, and a Frequently Asked Questions’ document, to
better inform mentors’, mentees’ expectations and experiences.
Conclusion: Systemic and infrastructural limitations affect the quality of the doctoral training experience at
MaKCHS. Clinical and biomedical research infrastructure, in addition to training in research regulatory processes,
procurement and finance management, communication skills and information technology, were highlighted as
high priority areas for strategic interventions to improve mentoring within doctoral training of clinician scientists.
Description
Keywords
Mentorship, Doctoral training, Supervision, Capacity building, Health care, Low and middle income countries
Citation
Nakanjako, D., Katamba, A., Kaye, D. K., Okello, E., Kamya, M. R., Sewankambo, N., & Mayanja-Kizza, H. (2014). Doctoral training in Uganda: evaluation of mentoring best practices at Makerere university college of health sciences. BMC Medical Education, 14(1), 1-8. doi:10.1186/1472-6920-14-9