The Mentoring Program and Integration of First-year Students at the School of Medicine, University of São Paulo

Abstract: ln 2002, the Mentoring Program at the School of Medicine, University of São Paulo (FMUSP), participated actively in the integration of first-year students. In order to evaluate the experience, the students' and mentors' perceptions were compared. Most mentors' stated that first-year students established a positive rapport with them. There was positive integration between first-year and more advanced studenls through the exchange of experiences, including discussion of such themes as expectations in relation to the University, preclinical courses, and new faculty members' methodologies, among others. This first meeting was considered quite satisfactory by both tutors and first-year students. The main reason for dissatisfaction related to groups in which veteran students seldom attended or paticipated. The reports showed a positive rapport between the Tutoring Program and the first-year students' integration at FMUSP. For first-year students, the Tutoring Program proved to be an important ingredient in expanding the support network at the institution. For the Program, the first-year students breathed 'new life' into the groups, increasing their motivation and dynamics.