Abstract: Objective To examine the impact of mentor guidance on the research productivity among eight-year medical graduates and the mediating role of research self-efficacy. Methods Between May and August 2022, a self-developed questionnaire was distributed to 1 367 eight-year medical graduates from 11 universities. Mentor guidance variables were assignment of a faculty mentor during the undergraduate phase, mandatory publication requirement, and satisfaction with thesis supervision. Research output metrics were annual first- or corresponding-author publications and the highest impact factor achieved. Pearson correlations were computed, and mediation was tested with PROCESS Model 4. Results Overall, 561 (41.0%) had a mentor during their undergraduate stage, 586 (42.9%) were subject to a publication requirement, the average satisfaction with thesis guidance was 4.02±0.86, and the average research self-efficacy score was 3.28±0.90. Graduates published an average of 0.43 papers per year as first author, and the average highest impact factor was 3.00. Mentor assignment and publication requirement exerted significant positive indirect effects on annual first-author output through research self-efficacy (β=0.089 and 0.056, respectively). The Bootstrap 95% confidence intervals for both indirect effects did not include 0. Conclusions Mentorship exerted a positive effect on the research productivity of eight-year medical students through the mediating mechanism of research self-efficacy. Early allocation of mentors coupled with appropriate publication requirements during the undergraduate period is recommended to optimise long-term research output.

Key words: Mentor, Eight-year medical graduates, Research self-efficacy, Research output, Mediating role