Abstract: Objective To evaluate the effect of a mentor-based visiting scholar training program. Methods Cross-sectional questionnaires were used to investigate the impact of mentor-based training program on the research productivity and career advancement of visiting scholars. Results Compared with no mentoring (n=28), visiting scholars with mentors (n=32) acquired more research funds (P＜0.05) and published more scholarly articles (27 articles vs 11 articles) despite a non-significant difference between the number of people who published articles. The difference in career advancement was not significant in the year post visiting scholarship. Ninety three percent of the participants were willing to recommend the mentor-based training program to others. Conclusions Mentor-based visiting scholar training program is an effective way to enhanced medical education and has a positive impact on academic productivity.

Key words: visiting scholar, mentor-based training, research productivity