Peer Tutoring
Peer tutoring in the medical faculty has three objectives: to integrate students into the existing student community, to teach them the practicalities and study skills required to conduct their studies efficiently and to provide social support to the new students, many of whom face a new and unfamiliar stage in their lives as they begin pursuing their studies.
The peer tutoring programme is co-ordinated by the faculty's student counsellors. They also plan and arrange tutor training and see to the quality assessment of the programme. The student counsellor also act as a mediator between the medical student union, tutors and the faculty in all matters concerning peer tutoring.
The faculty annually selects 1 tutor per three new students, and the tutoring itself is carried out in groups of 8 to 10 students, led by three tutors per group. One of them has always reached the clinical phase of his or her studies; this ensures a wider perspective into the six years of study ahead of the new students. The faculty receives many more applications for the tutor positions than can be selected, which ensures enthusiasm and quality in those who eventually are selected to be trained as tutors. Selection criteria include previous counselling and tutoring experience, self-reflective mini-essays, student association activities and knowledge of university administration.
Those selected go through a training programme consisting of two evening sessions of lectures, groupwork and seminars, a full-day workshop mainly focusing on group leadership and a set of written assignments.
Tutoring begins on the new students' first day. Tutoring activities include group meetings, lunches, parties and other get-togethers, advice-giving face-to-face and via phone and email, campus walks etc. The tutors plan their activities and schedules freely, only a particular set of activities is required by the faculty. These include visiting places that are considered vital for new students to know. Even though tutors have freedom to plan, they are provided with a written set of recommendations for activities and issues to discuss. These form one part of our Peer Tutoring Handbook, written and updated by the student counsellors.
Quality assessment of peer tutoring consists of feedback forms filled in by both new students and their tutors and a feedback evening during which the tutors get to hear about the feedback results. All the feedback received in taken in consideration in the planning of the following year's peer tutoring programme, and used in the training of new tutors.
In 2005 many changes to the training, selection and organisation of the tutors were implemented with good results, and the current tutoring programme follows the general guidelines fixed during that year. Feedback has been extremely positive in all respects in the previous years, and peer tutoring is seen by students old and new as a vital way in ensuring that new students get a smooth smart to their studies and feel welcome in our faculty.