Networked mentoring to promote social belonging among minority physical therapist students and develop faculty cross-cultural psychological capital

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine whether a networked mentoring program aligned with the racial/cultural identity development model could mitigate social isolation and promote a sense of belonging among first-year racial and ethnic minority Doctor of Physical Therapy students. Mentoring teams consisted of a first-year minority student, a faculty mentor, and a second-year minority peer mentor. First-year mentees described feeling more connected to the institution through interactions with peer and faculty mentors in mentoring sessions and networking events. Faculty mentors demonstrated a significant increase in cross-cultural psychological capital throughout the six-month intervention period. Peer mentors articulated their professional growth through participating in the networked mentoring model, highlighting the reciprocal benefits associated with mentoring.