Dominican University of California Peer Mentoring in Health Professions Education Programs

Transcription

1 Dominican University of California Peer Mentoring in Health Professions Education Programs Dr. Ruth Ramsey, OTR/L Associate Professor, Chair Dominican University of California AOTA/NBCOT Education Summit: October, 2013

2 Learning Outcomes 1. Appreciate the benefits and limitations of peer mentoring in health professions programs. 2. Learn which aspects of peer mentoring are most and least valued. 3. Consider strategies to develop or improve peer mentoring programs in educational and clinical settings. 2

3 Challenges Increasing OT program enrollment. More first generation college students. Increased competency requirements (students) Increased productivity pressures (faculty) 3

4 Purpose Examine the experiences of peer mentors and mentees in an occupational therapy education program in Northern California. 4

5 Research Questions 1. What is the experience of peer mentoring like for peer mentors? 2. What is the experience of peer mentoring like for peer mentees? 3. How does participation in a structured peer mentoring program contribute to professional identity development? 5

6 Review of Literature Mentoring definition: A relationship between a more expert or senior individual and a less educated individual, with the goal being to improve the career or education of the individual. (Anderson & Shannon, 1998). Peer mentoring: A specialized form of mentoring that provides positive feedback, guidance, and support to the mentee, while facilitating professional development in mentors. ( cite). 6

7 Peer Mentor Programs 1. Medicine 2. Nursing 3. Speech Therapy 4. Physical Therapy 5. Occupational Therapy 7

8 Key Concepts 1. Learning Communities: Lave and Wenger 2. Role Modeling and Self-Efficacy: Bandura 3. Accurate Empathy: Rogers 4. Professional Identity Development: Erickson 8

9 Study Design Non-experimental, mixed methods Quantitative: original survey Qualitative: Open-ended questions on survey Reflection paper(mentors only) 9

10 Participants OT students at private university in No Ca. IRB/PHS approval obtained N=104: 52 mentor mentee pairs Mentors: Third year majors ( GR) Mentees: First year majors (UG and GR) 10

11 Data Collection Instruments 1. Original survey of mentoring experience. Likert scale (1-5), 16 questions Two qualitative questions: benefits from program, suggestions for improvement 2. Reflection paper for class assignment Mentors only Reflective learning 11

12 Methodology Convenience sample Linked to course (mentors) Mentor-mentee pairs, matched by faculty. Brief training for mentors. Required to meet at least three times. Informed consent obtained. Participant survey, reflection paper 12

13 Survey Categories 1. Program Structure: 2Qs 2. Mentor-Mentee Relationships: 3Qs 3. Support and Information: 5Qs 4. Overall Experience: 4Qs 5. Future Plans: 2Qs 13

14 Data Analysis 1. Survey questions: descriptive statistics 2. Reflection papers and open-ended questions: thematic analysis 14

15 Survey Results Range: 68.5%-97.2 % A/SA Mean Score: 85% Low: meet three times : 68% High: provided useful info : 97% Overall positive experience : 93% 15

16 Survey Results Highest Agreement sharing student experience supporting academic success positive experience future mentoring Lowest Agreement meeting schedules referral to resources developing personal relationships 16

17 Other Findings No difference in responses between years. Higher overall satisfaction from mentors. Slightly higher satisfaction from MS/OT mentees than BS/MS mentees. Both mentees and mentors plan to seek and offer mentoring in the future. 17

18 Survey Q # 17: Benefits Mentors: Professional skill development, validation of knowledge, reflective learning, responsibility, sense of accomplishment, leadership experience. Mentees: Confidence boost, access to support, role model, knowledge of what to expect in program, advice, encouragement. 18

19 Survey Q # 18: Suggestions Mentors: Offer sooner in program, social gathering, structured topic sheet, longer training workshop, ask mentees to come prepared with concerns. Mentees: Plan shared activities, allow virtual meetings, meet before first midterms, better job with matches, offer more practical resources. 19

20 Survey Quotes Mentor: I was able to see myself as a professional, and understand that I had something to offer. Mentee: It gave me hope and a sense of confidence in myself as an aspiring OT, and confidence in the program as well. 20

21 Mentor Reflection Paper 1. Report and reflect on mentor experience. 2. Review three articles on peer mentoring. 3. Envision mentoring in your professional career. 4. Overall experience, suggestions. 21

22 Reflections: Quotes There are advantages to students mentoring other students students are sometimes intimidated by faculty, but the peer mentor relationship offers a more equal power dynamic. I volunteered because I felt I had a lot of great advice to offer a first year student. I am grateful to have made it this far, and wanted to guide someone to do the same. 22 It has given me confidence in mentoring others and taught me valuable lessons I can take with me as I enter the field of OT.

23 Discussion Overall positive response to program. Mentors: facilitated professional identity development. Mentees: transition to graduate school. Both: reflective learning, self-confidence. 23

24 Suggestions Initial social gathering for participants. Mentor match at orientation. Improve matching process, match by track. Set goals at first meeting. More structure, clearer expectations. Training for mentees as well as mentors. Meet more than 3X, allow IM, text, , phone. Mentoring across all class levels. 24

25 Changes in 2013 Information session at new student orientation Plan to pair over the summer Peer mentee orientation Periodic check-in throughout semester 25

26 Limitations Time frame:one semester Schedule challenges between tracks Mentor/mentee match process 26

27 Resources Iowa State University Learning Communities CSU Northridge Peer Mentor Resource Booklet City College of SF Peer Mentor Program 27

28 References Bowman, R.L., & Bowman, V.E. (1990). Mentoring in a graduate counseling program. Counselor Education and Supervision, 30(1), Bozeman, B., & Feeney, M. (2008).Mentor matching: A goodness of fit model. Administration and Society, 40(5), Giordana, S, & Wedin, B. (2010). Peer mentoring for multiple levels of nursing students. Nursing Education Perspectives, 31(6), Sanft, Jensen, & McMurray (2008). Peer mentor companion. Belmont, CA, Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Jackson, C. & Woolsey, J. (2009). A different set of classrooms: Preparing a new generation of clinicians. Forum on Public Policy, California State University Northridge, Center for Innovative and Engaged Learning Opportunities. Johnson, W.B. ( 2007). On being a mentor.new Jersey, LEA Publishers. Harmer, B. Huffman, J, & Johnson, B. (2011). Clinical peer mentoring: partnering BSN seniors and sophomores on a dedicated education unit. Nurse Educator, 36(5), Hughes, A, & Fahy, B. (2009). Implementing an undergraduate psychology mentoring program. North American Journal of Psychology, 11(3), Li, H., Wang, L., Lin, Y., & Lee, I. (2011). The effect of a peer mentoring strategy on student nurse stress reduction in clinical practice. International Nursing Review, 58, Milner, T., & Bossers, A. (2004). Evaluation of the mentor-mentee relationship in an occupational therapy mentorship programme. Occupational Therapy International, 11(2) Power, R., Miles, B., Peruzzi, A, & Voerman, A. (2011). Building bridges: A practical guide to developing and implementing a subject-specific peer-to-peer academic mentoring program for first year higher education students. Asian Social Science, 7(11), Ramani, S. Gruppen, L., & Kachur, E.(2006). Twelve tips for developing effective mentors. Medical Teacher, 28(5), Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK, University Press. 28

29 29 Mentoring brings us together across generation, class, and often race in a manner that forces us to acknowledge our interdependence, to appreciate, in Martin Luther King, Jr. s words, that we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied to a single garment of destiny. In this way, mentoring enables us to participate in the essential but unfinished drama of reinventing community, while reaffirming that there is an important role for each of us in it. -Marc Freedman, founder and CEO, Encore.org.

30 Questions, Comments? Thank you! Ruth Ramsey, Ed.D., OTR/L Associate Professor, Chair Dominican University of California Department of Occupational Therapy