INTRODUCTIONEffective mentoring helps interns in the early stages of their medical career to reach personal and professional goals. This study investigated the mentoring experience of Korean interns during medical internship and evaluated mentoring effects to facilitate the development of future mentoring programmes.

METHODSParticipants were interns being trained at Chonnam National University Hospital, South Korea, in 2011. Interns were asked to complete a questionnaire about their mentoring experiences and job satisfaction.

RESULTSA total of 61 medical interns participated in the study, giving a response rate of 70.1%. Among these interns, 26 (42.6%) had mentoring experiences, with an average of 2.3 ± 1.9 mentors per mentee. Mentees usually discussed career planning and concerns regarding their personal and social lives with their mentors. Perceived quality of the mentor was significantly more important for male mentees than for female mentees. Female interns without a mentor made significantly less effort to seek a mentor than their male counterparts. Having and not having a mentor resulted in significant differences in the interns' job satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONFewer than half of the medical interns had mentoring experiences. Results suggest that the mentoring relationship may be less satisfying and more challenging for female interns. Effective mentoring may not only help interns plan their medical career, but also increase job satisfaction. Mentoring programmes during medical internship should be expanded and supported, as it is the initial step in a medical career.

Adult ; Female ; Humans ; Internship and Residency ; methods ; Job Satisfaction ; Male ; Mentors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Vocational Guidance ; methods ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: This study was performed to develop a counseling strategy, based on the profiles of medical students' Strong Interest Inventory (STRONG) and Myer-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) results, focusing on the three following questions: Into what distinct levels are students categorized by STRONG and MBTI? and What is the dispersion of the integrated profiles? METHODS: Freshmen students from Konyang University College of Medicine who matriculated between March 2011 and 2013 were administered the MBTI personality type test and the STRONG interest inventory assessment. The integrated profiles were categorized per Kim et al. (2006), and frequency analysis was performed with the collected data, using SPSS version 21.0. RESULTS: Regarding MBTI types, 16.9% of students were categorized as ESTJ, and 12.9% was ISTJ. Further, 62.4% of students were Investigative (I) according to STRONG. The integrated profiles were divided into four types, according to their unclear/clear preference in the STRONG and MBTI results. Most students had 'clear preference and clear interest' (n=144, 80.9%), six students (3.4%) had 'clear interest but unclear preference,' and 28 students (15.7%) showed 'unclear interest but clear preference.' CONCLUSION: Using the combined results of the STRONG interest inventory assessment and MBTI tools, we can purvey more tailored information to students.
*Career Choice ; Counseling ; Humans ; *Personality ; Personality Inventory ; Psychology, Applied ; Republic of Korea ; Schools, Medical ; *Students, Medical ; Universities ; Vocational Guidance/*methods