Using standardised commitment forms to improve mentorship outcomes

Staff wellbeing is a critical priority in modern healthcare owing to rising levels of burnout and psychological distress^​1​. Mentorship is a recognised strategy to support professional development, resilience and retention^​2​. Within an oncology pharmacy team at a large NHS teaching hospital, a recently established mentorship scheme lacked structure and clarity in meetings. The department comprises 36 pharmacists — including 2 consultant pharmacists, reflecting the advanced scope of practice within the service — and 8 pharmacy technicians or assistants, supported by rotational staff. This service improvement project was aimed to strengthen the scheme by introducing a My Mentorship Commitment form to clarify expectations, structure discussions and facilitate goal setting. The form included sections outlining mentor and mentee responsibilities, agreed communication arrangements, meeting frequency, learning objectives, development goals and actions for review throughout the mentorship relationship.

Intervention

Using a ‘Plan-Do-Study-Act’ approach, a SWOT analysis and pre-intervention survey (n=28) assessed baseline staff wellbeing and perceptions of mentorship. The My Mentorship Commitment form was implemented, with staff encouraged to complete at least one mentoring meeting using the form over a two-month period. A post-intervention survey (n=18) collected quantitative and qualitative feedback.

Outcome

Post-intervention results identified five themes:

1. Understanding of mentoring and expectations;
2. Confidence in role and professional development;
3. Perceived value of mentoring;
4. My Mentorship Commitment review;
5. Banding insights.

Clear improvements were identified with staff expectations and understanding of mentoring along with greater clarity and focus of mentoring meetings. There was modest improvement in the perceptions of mentoring benefits and professional development and career direction. There was slight improvement in wellbeing scores, but these are not statistically significant.

The My Mentorship Commitment form was viewed positively overall — particularly by less senior (band 7) staff — with users reporting that it helped structure meetings and improve discussion quality. The My Mentorship Commitment form successfully increased structure and clarity within the oncology mentorship scheme. While direct short-term effects on wellbeing were limited, indirect benefits and strong staff endorsement (especially among junior pharmacists) suggest the intervention has promise. However, uptake of the form was limited (39% among post-survey respondents), highlighting potential barriers, such as time constraints or preference for less formal approaches. Longer-term follow-up, higher uptake strategies and additional ‘Plan-Do-Study-Act’ cycles are recommended to further evaluate and optimise impact on staff wellbeing and retention.

Conclusion and next steps

This service improvement project evaluated the implementation of a mentoring intervention, including the My Mentorship Commitment form, within an oncology pharmacy team. The pre and post-intervention surveys revealed modest but consistent enhancements in staff wellbeing, confidence, role clarity and perceptions of mentoring’s value, aligning with established literature on mentorship’s benefits in healthcare settings^​3​.

While the My Mentorship Commitment form demonstrated potential in structuring meetings and reducing ambiguity, its low uptake (39%) and neutral impact on wellbeing underscore opportunities for refinement. Overall, the intervention fostered a more supportive environment for professional growth, though limitations, such as small sample sizes, anonymisation and short-term measurement, constrain broader generalisations.

This research offers several key takeaways for different stakeholders in pharmacy and healthcare. For practitioners, the findings demonstrate that mentoring — particularly when supported by structured tools such as the My Mentorship Commitment form — can significantly enhance role clarity and professional confidence. These benefits appear especially pronounced among less experienced staff, such as band 7 pharmacists, positioning mentoring as a proactive developmental strategy rather than a remedial intervention. By fostering greater resilience and contributing to higher satisfaction levels with fewer negative responses post-intervention, it helps mitigate burnout risk in a demanding field.

For managers and organisational leaders, the results underscore the importance of strong managerial endorsement and a flexible implementation approach to ensure successful uptake. Establishing a workplace culture that actively values and supports mentoring across all career stages — including senior levels — is essential for boosting job satisfaction and staff retention. Addressing common barriers, such as time constraints, through targeted training, protected time and adequate resource allocation will be critical to maximising the intervention’s impact^​4​.

For researchers and those planning future studies, this project highlights the potential of hybrid formal-informal mentoring models within pharmacy settings, providing early evidence that structured commitments can drive positive professional and wellbeing outcomes. To build on these insights, subsequent research should employ larger sample sizes, longitudinal designs and more targeted survey questions to better isolate the specific mechanisms (for example, how improved meeting structure influences wellbeing) and to assess generalisability beyond oncology pharmacy contexts.

In summary, this project affirms mentorship’s role in elevating professional development and wellbeing in pharmacy, providing a foundation for scalable interventions that prioritise clarity, support and inclusivity.

James Alexander, clinical oncology pharmacist, Weston Park Hospital