Design features of an e-mentoring system for the health professions

Choosing to learn in partnership

Abstract

In the past decade there has been a phenomenal growth of online mentoring websites and opportunities within a wide variety of professions, yet few peer reviewed publications to date have addressed the linkage to ICT and how it supports such systems. The purpose of this article is to address this gap in our knowledge by: proposing that the Internet and social software applications can provide a viable medium for enabling mentoring within defined roles, and communication channels for practitioners to explore online mentoring. Past research has found that scaffolding functions of mentoring (psychosocial and vocational), can be provided by ICT applications mediated by a mentor. We extend past research by assessing the relative value of technology applications to support virtual mentoring by describing a mentoring system has been designed for health professionals employed by a health care organisation. The initial observations indicate that e-mentoring relationships require additional support and education in the beginning stages of development. By providing specific research frameworks that underpin successful e-mentoring schemes internationally, we propose future research directions for e-mentoring supported through ICT, with its associated opportunities and challenges.