Course-specific performance and mentor characteristics in an undergraduate tutorial system in medical education.

Background: Mentorship programs are widely used in medical education, but evidence linking specific mentor characteristics to students' course-specific theoretical performance remains limited. This study examined associations between mentor characteristics and theoretical examination outcomes within an undergraduate tutorial system (UTS). Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 94 fourth-year medical students who participated in a structured UTS (each with one faculty mentor) and 136 non-UTS students for contextual comparison. Primary outcomes were final examination passing (≥60) and high achievement (≥80) in Internal Medicine and Surgery. Mentor characteristics included gender, age, professional title, academic degree, student-to-mentor ratio, and clinical specialty-course matching. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) accounted for clustering of students within mentors. Results: UTS students had higher mean theoretical scores than non-UTS students (71.1 ± 12.0 vs. 64.5 ± 9.4). Students performed better in Surgery than in Internal Medicine (passing rate: 86.2% vs. 71.3%, Conclusion: In this UTS program, a senior mentor title was independently associated with passing the Internal Medicine examination. Exploratory findings regarding mentor age require confirmation in larger, prospective studies. Course-specific differences in student performance were pronounced, suggesting that the impact of formal mentorship on theoretical learning is context-dependent.