Mentorship in Health-hackathon to ideate innovative solutions for patients in healthcare – How should we provide mentorship?

Aim: To discuss a mentorship model for Hackathons, using the asthma Hackathon which we organized as exemplar. Method: This Hackathon event was open to students in tertiary education and working adults. Participants had to enroll in a team of 3 to 5 members. Twelve teams were selected to participate in the final Hackathon event. The mentorship team consisted of three doctors, an advanced practice nurse, an industry partner, and two patients. A mentor who is a clinician (doctor or nurse) was assigned to each group, but the participants could approach any of the mentors for feedback. Results: Thirty-three Hackathon participants and four mentors were included. Majority of the Hackathon participants were aged between 20 to 29 (60.6%), and were full-time students (60.6%). The mentors included two Family Medicine Physicians, one Advanced Practice Nurse, and one industry partner. Both participants and mentors expressed that ideal mentorship team would comprise of a multidisciplinary team of clinicians, information technology personnels working in healthcare, patients, and industry partners. The mentors felt that they should be given background knowledge on their team capabilities to help streamline their mentorship approaches. Similarly, participants felt they can be presented with the mentors list to help them identify a suitable mentor and approach them for help. Some participants expressed the lack of structured meetings being organised. In contrast, the mentors reported that only a very few teams were proactive in contacting them. Conclusion: The mentorship team should consist of clinicians from a multidisciplinary team, healthcare professionals with expertise in areas such as service design and product design, industry partners, and patients. Background profile of the participants and mentors should be provided to both parties at the start of the Hackathon. Participants need to actively initiate meetings and discussions to make the most out of the mentorship.