DPT Student Perceptions about Developing Mentoring Skills: A Progressive Model

Area of Science:

• Physical Therapy Education
• Professional Skill Development
• Mentorship in Healthcare

Background:

• Doctoral physical therapy (DPT) students require professional skills, including mentoring.
• Developing these skills is crucial for future clinical practice and instruction.
• This study explored student perceptions of mentoring skill development in a DPT curriculum.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate student perceptions of developing mentoring skills.
• To evaluate a peer mentoring model within a DPT program.
• To identify factors influencing mentoring culture and skill acquisition.

Main Methods:

• Mixed-methods study design utilizing the Mentoring Culture Assessment (MCA) survey.
• Focus group discussions with a subset of participating students.
• Qualitative coding of focus group transcripts to identify emergent themes.

Main Results:

• Survey results indicated agreement on characteristics of good mentors and factors facilitating mentoring culture.
• Student responses regarding their personal ability to mentor were mixed.
• Qualitative analysis revealed four key themes supporting survey findings.

Conclusions:

• The peer mentoring model effectively enhanced DPT students' mentoring skills and confidence in clinical teaching.
• This approach fostered positive professional relationships among students.
• The model shows potential applicability to other health fields necessitating clinical practice and preparation for future instruction.