title: Peer mentoring program in an interprofessional and interdisciplinary curriculum in Brazil.
abstract: The Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus was founded in 2006 with five degree-granting programs in physical education, physiotherapy, nutrition, psychology, and occupational therapy. The guiding principle behind the programs' educational mission was centered on the development of health care professionals capable of working in interdisciplinary teams with an emphasis on holistic patient care. This pedagogical structure required peer-mentoring programs in order to integrate different areas of knowledge and to improve learning strategies among new generations of students. The authors' objective in the present report is to discuss the strategies and activities of the peer-mentoring program in histophysiology and gross anatomy in an interdisciplinary and interprofessional curriculum. Evaluations by students, mentors and professors are presented, along with a statistical analysis of variance comparing student performance in the module assessments according to their participation in the peer-mentoring activities. The results demonstrated that students who participated in peer-mentoring activities enjoyed a higher rate of academic success than those who did not participate. In addition, student and mentor evaluations of the peer mentoring program were highly positive. The program enabled mentors to gain a deeper knowledge of the subjects addressed in the learning modules, as well as to develop intrinsic teaching skills during their time as mentors. In short, the authors believe that the peer-mentoring program has been validated for its effectiveness in raising student academic performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, Institute of Health and Science, Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus, Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Camila Aparecida Machado
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, Institute of Health and Science, Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus, Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carolina Prado
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: de França Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, Institute of Health and Science, Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus, Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Isabel Cristina
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Céspedes
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, Institute of Health and Science, Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus, Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, Institute of Health and Science, Federal University of São Paulo, Baixada Santista Campus, Santos, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Le Sueur-Maluf
mesh_terms: D000715:Anatomy / Q000193:education*; D001938:Brazil; D004517:Education, Professional; D005178:Faculty; D058025:Interdisciplinary Studies; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008611:Mentors; D010379:Peer Group; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013663:Teaching
keywords: allied health education; gross anatomy education; histology education; interdisciplinary curriculum; interdisciplinary education; interprofessional mentoring; near-peer teaching; peer mentoring; physiology education; undergraduate education