Mentoring: what to expect from our surgical mentors in Colombia? A Latin American example.

Objective: Identifying the scope of surgical mentoring at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and compare the perceptions of teachers and students to recognize characteristics and competences of such practice and future needs.

Method: Two surveys were designed to evaluate the existence and importance of mentoring and inquire about the characteristics, qualities and skills expected on mentors.

Results: Both groups agree on the importance of having a mentor. 84.2% of teachers consider themselves mentors, however, only 38.6% of students considered them as such. The most relevant quality of the mentor recognized by students was the willingness and ability to teach, while for teachers it was respect. For the students, the most important competence was the ability to explain and teach about the procedures to be performed, while for teachers it was the ability to provide confidence and security.

Conclusions: There is a paradoxical behavior, most students consider they do not have a mentor while most teachers consider to be such. The need to expand the literature regarding mentoring in Colombia specifically in the surgical field was identified.