2045 “Mentorship In A Minute”: A Pilot Initiative To Close Mentorship Gaps Among Women Medical Students Interested In Neurosurgery

INTRODUCTION: Only 20% of current neurosurgical residents are female, indicating a substantial gender gap at the level of medical student recruitment. Many female medical students have a gap in their mentorship network, which serves as a barrier preventing entry into neurosurgery. Attendance at neurosurgical conferences can help medical students grow their mentorship network, however, there are limited programs available to facilitate these connections. METHODS: The program was initiated at CNS 2023 and AANS 2024. Mentors, neurosurgical residents and fellows, were paired with female medical student mentees. Paired mentors and mentees arranged times to meet in-person during conference hours for a minimum of 15 minutes. Participants rated their experiences using 7-point Likert scale responses in a post-event survey. RESULTS: 75 female medical student mentees were paired one-on-one with 39 neurosurgery mentors. Among mentees, 62% identified as having a gap in their mentorship network and 27% did not have home neurosurgery programs. Additionally, 13% of students identified as underrepresented in medicine. Post-event survey response rates were 45% for mentees and 46% for mentors. Mentorship pairs met for an average of ∼40 minutes (range: 15-120 minutes). Overall, 82% believed that “Mentorship in a Minute” was helping fill their mentorship gap. Further, 97% of mentees would participate in future iterations of the program, and 94% anticipate continuing communication with their mentors. Unequivocally, 100% of mentor respondents would participate in future iterations of the program and 100% would continue communication with their mentees. CONCLUSIONS: This data demonstrate feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a pilot initiative to facilitate female medical student mentorship at a neurosurgical conference. Our program shows early promise to close mentorship gaps among women and broadly foster their sense of connection in the greater neurosurgical community.