Partnership for development: A peer mentorship model for PhD students

Abstract

Formal mentoring relationships socialize Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) students to their current and future roles as nursing scholars. Despite formal mentoring, some students may desire or benefit from additional mentoring in an informal setting. Informal mentoring complements the one-to-one relationship students develop with a primary faculty mentor or dissertation chair. This manuscript describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a student-driven, peer mentorship model, titled Partnership for Development. This small group, peer mentorship model was implemented in a PhD program at a School of Nursing during an academic year. Five student peer facilitators organized a total of 32 PhD students, 2 post-doctoral associates, and invited 5 faculty to participate. Data includes pre- and post-implementation surveys completed by the students and peer facilitator field notes. Student reported post-participation benefits included: getting to know faculty in an informal setting (n = 6), socializing with students from other cohorts (n = 6), and obtaining a sense of camaraderie with other PhD students (n = 5). We recommend peer mentorship for other PhD programs as a way to socialize PhD students into the role of nurse scientist and assist students during their tenure as a PhD student.

Postgraduate researchers’ experiences of accessing participants via gatekeepers: ‘wading through treacle!’

“…Pyhältö and colleagues (2012) found those PGRs who actively engaged in their scholarly community found this to be their central resource of support on their doctoral journey. Likewise, doctoral student networks or peer-support models have been found to increase a sense of morale, and improve wellbeing (Lewinski et al, 2017;Galica et al, 2018). Why more students in this study did not seek support from their peers, colleagues, and friends may require further investigation but this should encourage Universities to consider promoting peer support.…”

Building sustainable research capacity at higher learning institutions in Tanzania through mentoring of the Young Research Peers

“…The Young Peers exercised own governance which further fostered their growth in research leaderships and organization. This model prepared young faculty early in on in undertaking their mentoring role and cultivating healthy relationships with colleagues along and across academic ranks, elements that are critical for successful mentorship [14][15][16]. Overall, our model of mentorship was unique in its design and implementation which enhances support between senior and junior faculty, between peer junior faculty, between junior faculty and students, and between student mentees.…”

High enthusiasm about long lasting mentoring relationships and older mentors

“…Peer-to-peer mentoring helps both mentors and protégés to learn communication, documentation and leadership skills [41, 42]. PhD students in particular, can benefit from peer mentoring as their colleagues can assist them and socialise them into their role as future scholars [43]. Mid-career faculty are more likely than late-career faculty to be interested in serving as mentors [44].…”