Introduction:

Being accepted for medical school brings euphoria, and is sometimes associated to major changes in the student’s daily life. These changes pertain to moments of fear, suffering and adaptation. The mentoring programs, therefore, appear as essential care spaces, offering welcoming and support to students, in order to contribute to their personal and academic development.

Experience Report:

Faced with the need to adapt from face-to-face teaching to the remote model, to help control the Covid-19 pandemic, the Mentoring program of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte invested in conducting online activities led by junior mentors. These activities took advantage of the potential of social media, through video conferencing platforms, in addition to interactions on social networks, to hold the meetings and maintain the link, as well as providing a space for welcoming and integrating students and mentors.

Discussion:

In relation to the remote activities, students and mentors were found to be very participative and satisfied. The role of junior mentors in developing these virtual activities was an important differential, enabling the engagement of the most timid and those who had difficulty in meeting the face-to-face schedules.

Conclusion:

Through observation during the development of the program activities, and based on the evaluation of students and mentors on the performance of mentoring in the remote semester, the conclusion is drawn that it is important to invest in the potential of social media to boost mentoring group meetings, ensure that the students are offered reception and support, and to strengthen the bonds with the participants. In light of this, it is necessary to consider the possibility of adopting a mixed teaching model to improve the mentoring program.

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