{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,12]],"date-time":"2026-10-12T16:57:36Z","timestamp":1791824256337,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Traditional residency training is often characterized by unstructured supervision and frequent clinical rotations, which disrupt the continuity of mentor\u2013mentee relationships and may hinder residents' professional development. This cross-sectional study examined the association of structured mentoring with professional identity and career development among medical residents.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 388 participants, including 172 current residents and 216 graduated physicians, between December 2025 and January 2026. A validated 5-point Likert-scale questionnaire was used to assess structured mentoring, training quality, and career development.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Result<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This study investigated 388 early-career physicians, with 84.54% receiving fixed residency mentorship. The mentorship yielded high overall effectiveness (4.39\/5) and recognition (4.70\/5), excelling in clinical guidance (scores &amp;gt;4.5) but underperforming in research training (3.76\/5). Heavy clinical workload (35.06%) and unclear guidance were dominant barriers. The fixed-mentor group showed markedly higher satisfaction (4.39 vs. 3.32,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      &amp;lt; 0.001), with no significant differences in salary and clinical adaptation. Over 90% supported the program, and 78.87% favored two-way mentor matching as the top optimization strategy.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Fixed longitudinal mentorship was associated with stronger professional identity, better psychological wellbeing, and more favorable early career development among medical residents. Future efforts should focus on strengthening research support, optimizing structured feedback mechanisms, and enhancing mentor development to maximize the effectiveness of mentoring programs.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1904776","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T04:44:14Z","timestamp":1786509854000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Impact of structured mentorship on professional identity and career development among medical residents: a cross-sectional study in China"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Jiayi","family":"Tan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]},{"name":"Emergency General Department, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bo","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Center for Stomatology & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]},{"name":"Emergency General Department, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University","place":["Chengdu, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"612","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-024-05609-6","article-title":"Evaluating competency-based medical education: a systematized review of current practices","volume":"24","author":"Alharbi","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1446","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000000427","article-title":"Reframing medical education to support professional identity formation","volume":"89","author":"Cruess","year":"2014","journal-title":"Acad Med."},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1922","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(16)00582-1","article-title":"Doctors in China: improving quality through modernisation of residency education","volume":"388","author":"Zhu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet."},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1040","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-024-06031-8","article-title":"Current status, challenges, and future directions of laparoscopic training in young surgeons: a nationwide survey in China","volume":"24","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ."},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"735","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-025-07302-8","article-title":"Knowledge, attitudes, practices, and burnout related to respiratory support among healthcare professionals in central China: a structural equation modeling study","volume":"25","author":"Cui","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ."},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2272","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(16)31279-X","article-title":"Interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"388","author":"West","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet."},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"116949","DOI":"10.1016\/j.amjsurg.2026.116949","article-title":"Mentee - mentor matching in surgical practice and training - A systematic review of the literature and single-arm meta-analysis","volume":"257","author":"Kehagias","year":"2026","journal-title":"Am J Surg."},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"405","DOI":"10.1007\/s40670-024-01994-1","article-title":"Implementation of a mentoring program for mentee-mentor satisfaction: a longitudinal pilot study","volume":"34","author":"David","year":"2024","journal-title":"Med Sci Educ."},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e296","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.0040296","article-title":"STROBE Initiative. 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