title: Medical student mentorship in radiation oncology at a single academic institution: A 10-year analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mentorship has been identified by medical students, residents, and faculty as an important component of specialty selection and research productivity in radiation oncology. This study quantitatively analyzes the impact of a mentorship program in radiation oncology targeted to medical students at our institution.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective review of 76 current or former medical students who were mentored by faculty radiation oncologists at our institution between 2004 and 2013. Data were collected from the medical school's Office of Student Affairs and from internal departmental records. Mentees were organized by mentorship tracks, which included a clinical track and a research track. For each track, data were compiled and analyzed for student specialty selection, and Fisher exact tests were used to determine the relative significance of exposure to clinical, research, or both tracks on student likelihood of pursuing residency in radiation oncology relative to other specialties. We further tracked the research productivity of mentees in the program, as determined by the number publications that were coauthored by mentees and mentors each year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The absolute number of mentees has grown each year, with a total of 76 mentees, including 58 alumni, at the end of 2013. Mentees in the program have produced a total of 53 manuscripts, given 75 presentations at national conferences, and received numerous national and internal medical school research awards. Of the 58 alumni, 17 (29.3%) applied to and matched into radiation oncology residencies. Alumni of both the research and the clinical track were 5.76 (P < .01) times more likely to enter a radiation oncology residency program than the average single-track alumnus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Mentorship in medical school is an important factor in the development of future radiation oncologists. These results demonstrate the positive impact mentorship has on specialty selection and research productivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: Ariel.hirsch@bmc.org.
authors.forename: Ariel E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Ankit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Alexander E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Rand
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Nicholas J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: DeNunzio
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Krishnan R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Minh Tam
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Truong
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Kachnic
mesh_terms: D000047:Academies and Institutes; D035843:Biomedical Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008611:Mentors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018787:Radiation Oncology; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data