Faculty Mentors' Perspectives on E‐Mentoring Post‐Professional Occupational Therapy Doctoral Students

Abstract

E-mentoring is a viable option for mentoring students in occupational therapy educational programs. The objective of this study was to investigate faculty perspectives of faculty-to-student e-mentoring in an online post-professional doctor of occupational therapy program. In a retrospective mixed-method design, nine faculty members described features and outcomes of e-mentoring 48 doctoral students. Online survey results were analysed quantitatively for descriptive statistics; transcripts from structured interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results showed that successful, satisfactory e-mentoring is student-centered, flexible, frequent, academically and psychosocially supportive; faculty members must be skilled in adapting e-mentoring to the needs and objectives of each mentee; e-mentoring provides opportunities for faculty members and students to achieve academic and professional objectives and growth. The findings suggest that implementation of e-mentoring may be a useful model in other occupational therapy programs. There is a need for future studies with broader participant pool, observable measures of e-mentoring, standardized measures of satisfaction and success and comparison between e-mentoring with and without web camera. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Presenting a Framework for Effective E-Mentoring Relationships in Medical Sciences: A Meta-Synthesis Method

“…Similar to the findings of DiRenzo et al, Eby et al, Grant-Vallone and Ensher, and Jacobs et al, also suggested that the frequency of communication (face-to-face and electronic) was effective on the success of e-mentoring relationships (5). According to the results of a study on the e-mentoring relationship between the instructor and the student in the online postprofessional doctor of occupational therapy (OTD) program, it was proven that at least one 28 -60-minute session of communication per week is highly necessary (10).…”

“…However, it should be noted that maintaining effective and long-term mentoring relationship is required to spend enough time and both the mentors and mentees should communicate. According to Doyle et al, the duration of each communication can affect the mentoring relationships (10).…”

“…Participating in an asynchronous mentoring relationship also involves a form of commitment to work-life ethic (8). In e-mentoring, the mentors and mentees can communicate with each other via different means including e-mail, discussion boards, instant messaging, videoconferencing via web cameras, listservs, Usenet, newsgroups, threaded discussions and/or chat rooms, telephone, typed chat, asynchronous message board, Second Life, Facebook, Twitter, Skype, and texting (4,5,9,10). Schichtel contends that ementoring makes it possible to have mentors who are geographically at a distant from medical interns, and therefore, it provides professional expertise and assistance for those who do not have access to a face-to-face interaction (1).…”

“…Wong and Prekumar contend that the combination of methods of face-to-face mentoring with those of e-mentoring is necessary to achieve any success in ementoring (2). An effective and satisfactory e-mentoring should be student-centered, flexible, frequent, and academically and psychosocially supportive (10). According to Doyle et al, the 3 important dimensions of e-mentoring, which play a role in its success are: a plan or structure for mentoring communication, the frequency of mentoring interactions, and the opportunity for mentoring participants to meet face-to-face (10).…”

“…An effective and satisfactory e-mentoring should be student-centered, flexible, frequent, and academically and psychosocially supportive (10). According to Doyle et al, the 3 important dimensions of e-mentoring, which play a role in its success are: a plan or structure for mentoring communication, the frequency of mentoring interactions, and the opportunity for mentoring participants to meet face-to-face (10). Frequent coordinated interactions and the use of different methods of communication such as webcams, emails, and mobile phones are among some of the most important characteristics of ementoring from the perspective of Jacobs et al Studies also suggest that the efficiency and success of e-mentoring increases when the duration of the e-mentoring period increases (5).…”