Who Benefits Most from Peer Support Group? – First Year Student Success for Pathology Students

Abstract

A myriad of interventions are required to maximize waning student success in higher education. A non-hierarchical peer support group for ‘at risk’ and ‘non-at risk’ students is a logistically advantageous form of mentoring that uses mentors from the same cohort. This method was implemented for first year Medical Radiation pathology students in 2014 and 2015 at the University of South Australia, as the ‘Study Buddy Support’ (SBS) scheme. Students identified as ‘at risk’ of failing the pathology course from their mid-semester quiz results and who participated in the scheme performed significantly better in the final exam, while those who studied independently did not. There may be a similar positive trend in those who were not considered ‘at risk’ but participated in the scheme. Implementation of the ‘Study Buddy Support’ (SBS) scheme is recommended for both ‘at risk’ and ‘not at risk’ first year students across disciplines.