The role of mentoring on research productivity among occupational therapy faculty

Abstract

This study surveyed junior and senior occupational therapy faculty in order to further understand the role that mentoring plays in research productivity. Junior faculty with and without mentors were compared in terms of their overall research productivity, and the senior faculty who served as mentors were compared with senior faculty who were not mentors. The role of institutional support factors on research productivity was also examined. The results of this survey suggest that mentoring plays an important role in increasing research productivity in junior faculty in the field of occupational therapy. Also, senior faculty mentors perceived their mentoring experience to enhance their research productivity. A general profile of an occupational therapy mentor and mentee has emerged from the results. Analyses showed a low to moderate positive correlation between faculty research productivity and a number of institutional support factors. Availability of intramural funds, release time, chair and dean support for research, grant writing seminars, and availability of statistical and computing help correlated with research productivity. The authors recommend the need for mentoring in occupational therapy academia. New faculty should have a mentor or mentors to help them succeed in research, teaching and service goals. Developing short-term and long-term goals with the mentor and periodic evaluation of goals will help new faculty to keep pace with the demands and requirements of their academic positions.

Examining the Personal and Institutional Determinants of Research Productivity in Hospitality and Tourism Management

“…While many faculty believe that research and teaching are complementary and not competing activities (Sharobeam & Howard, 2002), the reality is that these activities do compete for the limited amount of time available to faculty to carry out their job responsbilities. Thus, given the increasing importance of (quality) research on promotion and tenure, and the need to effectively manage one's allocation of time rather than relying on the availability of teaching assistant support and/or interventions such as release time (Paul et al, 2002), Boice's (1987) tested alternative suggestion, while seemingly obvious, would appear to hold water: that faculty can produce significant amounts of writing by finding time for brief, daily writing sessions.…”

“…Hours of teaching assistance per week at current institution* Number of years at current institution + Hours of teaching assistance per week at previous institution(s)* Number of years at previous institution(s) divided by total number of years in academia Sharobeam and Howard (2002) class_year Weighted average of number of classes taught per year Number of classes taught per year at current institution* Number of years at current institution + Number of classes taught per year at current institution(s)* Number of years at previous institution(s) divided by total number of years in academia Buchheit et al (2001);Paul et al (2002) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 …”

Evaluation of the mentor–mentee relationship in an occupational therapy mentorship programme

“…When the relationship dissolved, it was due to a change in location of either person, the mentor leaving the organization or position, the death of the mentor, or the relationship no longer meeting the needs of the mentee. Paul et al (2002) found the average duration of mentoring relationships between the senior faculty mentor and junior faculty mentees in occupational therapy academia studied was 3.57 years. This study will investigate the length of the relationships in the formal mentoring groups within an occupational therapy educational programme.…”

The Role of Attachment in Faculty Mentoring

“…Additionally, women faculty or faculty who come from underrepresented groups has difficulty finding mentors informally because of the general unavailability of mentors from those groups. A mentor can help a new faculty member assimilate into academe, offer assistance on initiation in research and teaching activities, and serve as a supporter in the tenure and promotion process (Brent & Felder, 2000;Paul, Stein, Ottenbacher, & Liu, 2002). In order for new faculty to become productive in the academic community within their first couple of years, academic departments should be proactive in helping them through formal faculty mentoring programs rather than allowing their development to proceed entirely by trial and error (Boice, 1992).…”

“…University of Vermont, Marquette University, University of California, Northern Illinois University, New York University, University of Kansas, are some of the universities that have implemented formal faculty mentoring programs. Mentoring has shown to have positive outcomes for junior faculty in formal mentoring programs by facilitating organizational socialization, and research productivity (Cawyer, Simonds, & Davis, 2002;Paul, Stein, Ottenbacher, & Liu, 2002). A review of 39 studies of mentoring in academic medicine revealed mentorship having an important influence on research productivity, personal development, career guidance, and career choice of junior faculty (Sambunjak, Straus, & Marusic, 2006).…”