UK - Yemen Surgical & Trauma Care Mentorship Scheme
The College has established a collaboration with the Yemeni Society of Surgeons (YSS) to pilot a mentoring scheme to support the delivery of surgical and trauma care services and training through mentorship. The UK-Yemen Surgical & Trauma Care Mentorship Scheme is aimed at supporting the training and professional development of senior surgical residents and surgeons with less than five years of post-qualification experience in Yemen, by matching them with more experienced UK surgeons and surgical trainees.
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is a form of development, which concentrates on building capability. The key objective of mentoring is to assist the mentee in discovering their potential and realising their aspirations. The flow of learning is two-way with both mentor and mentee benefiting from the partnership.Rather than a relationship focusing on educational needs, which can be delivered through other educational opportunities, mentoring focuses on the mentee being stretched and challenged as well as supported. In this way, the mentee can benefit from the mentor’s wider experience and put this into perspective, which in turn allows mutual new learning. Mentors will empower mentees to take charge of their own direction, focusing on their potential which in turn will develop their leadership skills and ability to influence.
The benefits of mentoring to the mentee will include:
• Increasing the mentee’s knowledge and experience in their specialty or field.
• Maximising performance and realising the mentee’s potential.
• Improving the mentee’s problem-solving abilities.
• Building the mentee’s confidence in different and more challenging situations.
• Developing leadership skills within the context of the mentee’s career aspirations and goals.
• Widening the mentee’s professional network and influence within and beyond their specialty.
The Pilot
Participating Hospitals
RCS England and YSS has established a partnership with four hospitals in Yemen from which a total of at least 16 early career surgeons and/or surgical residents will be recruited and matched with UK surgeons or senior trainees. The four participating hospitals are:
• Al-Thawrah Modern General Hospital
• Al-Thawra Hospital, Ibb City
• Al-Thawra Hospital, Taiz City
• Al-Gomhoria Teaching Hospital, Aden City
Mentoring Method
This is a virtual mentorship scheme and the mentoring will take place remotely, using mainstream accessible communication platforms such as email, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and WhatsApp.
Duration and Contact
Once matched, the mentoring relationship will run for up to 12 months during which the mentor and mentee will be required to meet a minimum of 10 times (‘contact sessions’), which will include an ‘introduction’ contact session and a ‘concluding/ review’ contact session. Mentors and mentees will be required to document their mentorship journey and provide feedback on the scheme.
Recognition and Accreditation
The mentoring journey and experience gained will be accredited by RCS England and YSS.
Partnership Goals
Through this pilot, the RCS England and YSS are seeking to:
(a) Improve and widen access to high quality, affordable surgical care in Yemen through the provision and support of training, mentoring and research with and for Yemeni surgical residents and those in their early surgical careers.
(b) Strengthen the relationship between RCS England and YSS, and by extension, wider UK-Yemeni relations in the area of health improvement and access, particularly in conflict and fragile state settings.
(c) Establish an international mentorship scheme, which is recognised and accredited by RCS England and the YSS.
YSS is also seeking to:
(d) Establish a professional relationship with RCS England to support broader aims of institutional development, professional exchange and the services that YSS is able to make available to its members.
(e) Pilot and evaluate mentorship as a means of addressing the surgical workforce training challenges, which some Yemeni hospitals and regions are experiencing due to the ongoing conflict in the country and region.
RCS England is aiming to:
(f) Build on the College’s work and current guidance on mentorship and develop a model, which specifically addresses mentorship within an international development/ global health context; and humanitarian environment/ conflict setting.
(g) Provide UK surgeons with an opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise to improve surgery and surgical services in resource-limited settings, particularly low- and middle-income countries, fragile and conflict-affected countries through remote mentorship.
(h) Document and evaluate the impact and effectiveness of remote mentorship as a sustainable strategy for capacity development in humanitarian surgery and as part of the College’s Humanitarian Surgery Initiative (HSI).
Mentees and Mentors Goals
Mentees participating in this pilot will have:
(a) Access to advice, mentoring and guidance from leading UK consultant surgeons and senior surgical trainees/ registrars.
(b) Their mentoring experience will be recognised and accredited by RCS England and YSS. Mentees who successfully complete the scheme will be awarded a Certificate of Participation.
Mentors participating in this pilot will have an opportunity to:
(c) Develop their mentoring skills and experience.
(d) Gain exposure to another health system with particular challenges due to its conflict setting.
(e) Share their knowledge and experience, which leads to supporting surgical colleagues in resource-limited settings, without having to travel overseas.
(f) Have their mentoring experience and skills accredited and recognised by RCS England. Mentors who successfully complete the scheme will be awarded a Certificate of Participation.
Research Study
Research Study: “What factors influence mentoring delivered within the context of institutional partnerships between UK and Low- and Middle-Income Country (LMIC) health institutions?”
RCS England and YSS are supporting a PhD research study undertaken by Oxford Brooks University, which aims to support future global health partnerships and capacity development initiatives by providing:
• Guidance to projects that may be considering or are implementing remote/ virtual mentoring as an intervention or capacity development tool.
• A framework to guide and inform mentors and mentees.
The UK-Yemeni Surgical and Trauma Care Mentorship Scheme will be participating in this study and will contribute to the data collection efforts that will take place over a period of 18 months, as mentoring relationships evolve. Mentors and mentees will be invited to complete a short online survey and some individual mentors and mentees will be interviewed.
The results of the study will be published as a PhD thesis and its findings will inform the future development of the scheme.
Support and Scheme Leaders
Throughout the pilot, mentors and mentees will be supported by the following team members of RCS England and YSS:
Mai Seida
Global Programmes Officer
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Dr Mohamed Al-Shehari
Secretary-General, Yemeni Society of Surgeons
Country Advisor for Yemen
Royal College of Surgeons of England
Dr Raoof Saleh
Country Advisor for Yemen
Humanitarian Surgery Innovation Fellow
Royal College of Surgeons of England
If you want to contact us and if you have any questions please email humanitarian@rcseng.ac.uk
How to join the scheme
Recruitment of the Yemeni Surgeons has been concluded through the Yemeni Society of Surgeons (YSS)
Recruitment of the UK participants is taking place through the College.
If you are a Surgeon working in the UK and interested to join this scheme and volunteer as a mentor, you can apply by filling in this sign-up form by 28 July 2024
If you want to contact us and if you have any questions please email humanitarian@rcseng.ac.uk