COST Action DISSECT — Working Group 4 (WG4)
Dear colleagues and friends,
Please read the information below carefully before deciding whether to participate.
You are invited to take part in a research survey on mentorship in surgery conducted by COST Action CA24158 Disparities In Surgical Specialization and Education in Cancer Training (DISSECT) Working Group 4 (WG4): Surgical Mentorship. Your contribution is very valuable, and we would be grateful if you decide to participate. Before deciding whether to participate, please read the information below carefully.
The purpose of this survey is to assess current access to mentorship in surgery, identify unmet needs, map existing mentorship opportunities, and support the development of a future European and worldwide mentorship framework and mentor database. The findings will help inform future initiatives aimed at improving mentorship access and reducing disparities in surgical training and career development.
If you agree to participate, you will complete an online questionnaire with multiple-choice and optional open-ended questions. The survey asks about your surgical specialty, career stage, mentorship experiences, barriers and needs related to mentorship, and preferences for future mentorship programmes. The survey should take approximately 8–10 minutes to complete.
This survey is intended for participants who are 18 years of age or older and who are medical students interested in surgery, surgical trainees, fellows, consultants, or researchers working in a surgical field.
Participation is entirely voluntary. You may choose not to answer any question and may stop at any time before submitting your responses. Choosing not to take part will not affect you in any way.
This survey is low risk. Some questions may prompt reflection on your experiences of mentorship, which some participants may find slightly uncomfortable. If you choose to provide follow-up contact details, these will be stored separately from your survey responses. While there may be no direct personal benefit from survey participation itself, the survey website will provide access to teaching materials and resources that may be useful to participants. Participants will also be able to find information about COST DISSECT and its activities, including ways to stay informed or become involved. Your responses may help improve mentorship access and inform future initiatives in surgery.
Your responses will be treated confidentially. You do not need to provide identifying information unless you choose to leave contact details for follow-up. Any email address or self-generated code provided for this purpose will be stored separately from your survey responses and used only as described in the survey. Responses will be analysed in aggregated and de-identified form, stored securely, and accessed only by authorised members of the research team. No personally identifiable information will appear in publications, presentations, or reports arising from this work. Data will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection and research governance requirements, including GDPR where relevant. If you provide contact details for follow-up, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of that information, where applicable.
Research data will be stored securely for a period consistent with institutional research policies and may be used in future academic publications, conference presentations, COST DISSECT WG4 reports, and development of mentorship initiatives or databases. Only anonymised or de-identified data may be shared with collaborators.
Survey responses may inform future scientific presentations and publications arising from this work. Participation in this survey alone does not qualify for authorship. Contributors may be acknowledged collectively, where appropriate. Individuals who make additional substantial contributions to the design, analysis, interpretation, or writing of future outputs may be invited to join subsequent collaborative work and may be considered for authorship in accordance with standard journal authorship criteria.
If you have any questions about this survey, please contact the WG4 Surgical Mentorship research team at dissectcostaction@gmail.com and include "WG4 Surgical Mentorship Survey – Query" in the subject line.
This study is conducted as part of COST Action CA24158 (DISSECT), funded by the European Union.