Investigating the Effect of Mentorship Portal on the Interaction of Student and Mentors in Clinical Fields

Abstract

<strong>Background</strong>: University has a great responsibility for the education of students. In order to achieve this target, it must provide academic counseling for students. The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes of students after using a portal for virtual counseling. <strong>Methods:</strong> A questionnaire which is based on the goals that mentioned in mentorship law was designed and validated by educational research committee of Mashhad University of medical sciences. It was presented to the students of dental school (step 1). A web based portal was designed and presented to the students and their mentors. The questionnaire was presented after 6 month of portal usage (step 2) and date were analyzed by SPSS ver .11.5. <strong>Results:</strong> 207 students participated in the first step and 201 in the second one. There was an increase in mentor visit but it was not statistically significant whereas the availability and consultation presented were increased (p = 0.05). <strong>Conclusions: </strong>It can be concluded; mentorship portal could increase the mentor student interactions but it need to be improved to be a suitable method in mentorship.