Mentoring Interventions for Underrepresented Scholars in Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences: Effects on Quality of Mentoring Interactions and Discussions

Inclusive Research Environments for Deaf and Hard of Hearing English Speakers

In recent years, an increasing number of deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) undergraduates have chosen to study in STEM fields and pursue careers in research. Yet, very little research has been undertaken on the barriers and inclusive experiences often faced by D/HH undergraduates who prefer to use spoken English in research settings, instead of American Sign Language (ASL). To identify barriers and inclusive strategies, we studied six English speaking D/HH undergraduate students working in research laboratories with their eight hearing mentors, and their three hearing peers sharing their experiences. Three researchers observed the interactions between all three groups and conducted interviews and focus groups, along with utilizing the Communication Assessment Self-Rating Scale (CASS). The main themes identified in the findings were communication and environmental barriers in research laboratories, creating accessible and inclusive laboratory environments, communication strategies, and self-advocating for effective communication. Recommendations for mentors include understanding the key elements of creating an inclusive laboratory environment for English speaking D/HH students and effectively demonstrating cultural competence to engage in inclusive practices.

Developing faculty research mentors: Influence of experience with diverse mentees, gender, and mentorship training

Effective mentoring is crucial for early-career researchers, and formal mentor training programs have demonstrated benefits for participating faculty. To determine how mentor training generalizes to different contexts and populations, we delivered mentor training and evaluated its impact on faculty's self-perceived mentoring skills. We also assessed whether mentor experience with diverse mentee populations or mentor gender influences mentors' self-perceived skills and if training interacted with these self-perceptions. We found mentors with more experience with diverse mentees were more likely to rate their mentoring skills higher than mentors with less experience across most areas assessed. Women rated themselves more highly than men at addressing diversity within the mentoring relationship. Mentors with less experience with diverse mentees gained the most training-related benefits in fostering independence skills. Training improved faculty self-perceived mentoring skills in all areas assessed. These results suggest while mentor training can benefit all involved, it can be especially useful for those newer to mentoring.

Academic Leadership Academy Summer Program: Clerkship Transition Preparation for Underrepresented in Medicine Medical Students

PROBLEM

Enhancing workforce diversity by increasing the recruitment of students who have been historically excluded/underrepresented in medicine (UIM) is critical to addressing healthcare inequities. However, these efforts are inadequate when undertaken without also supporting students' success. The transition to clerkships is an important and often difficult to navigate inflection point in medical training where attention to the specific needs of UIM students is critical.

INTERVENTION

We describe the design, delivery, and three-year evaluation outcomes of a strengths-based program for UIM second year medical students. The program emphasizes three content areas: clinical presentations/clinical reasoning, community building, and surfacing the hidden curriculum. Students are taught and mentored by faculty, residents, and senior students from UIM backgrounds, creating a supportive space for learning.

CONTEXT

The program is offered to all UIM medical students; the centerpiece of the program is an intensive four-day curriculum just before the start of students' second year. Program evaluation with participant focus groups utilized an anti-deficit approach by looking to students as experts in their own learning. During focus groups mid-way through clerkships, students reflected on the program and identified which elements were most helpful to their clerkship transition as well as areas for programmatic improvement.

IMPACT

Students valued key clinical skills learning prior to clerkships, anticipatory guidance on the professional landscape, solidarity and learning with other UIM students and faculty, and the creation of a community of peers. Students noted increased confidence, self-efficacy and comfort when starting clerkships.

LESSONS LEARNED

There is power in learning in a community connected by shared identities and grounded in the strengths of UIM learners, particularly when discussing aspects of the hidden curriculum in clerkships and sharing specific challenges and strategies for success relevant to UIM learners. We learned that while students found unique benefits to preparing for clerkships in a community of UIM students, near peers, and faculty, future programs could be enhanced by pairing this formal intensive curriculum with more longitudinal opportunities for community building, mentoring, and career guidance.

Peer mentoring to support career advancement among underrepresented minority faculty in the programs to increase diversity among individuals engaged in health-related research (PRIDE)

Although mentoring is critical for career advancement, underrepresented minority (URM) faculty often lack access to mentoring opportunities. We sought to evaluate the impact of peer mentoring on career development success of URM early career faculty in the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute-sponsored, Programs to Increase Diversity Among Individuals Engaged in Health-Related Research-Functional and Translational Genomics of Blood Disorders (PRIDE-FTG). The outcome of peer mentoring was evaluated using the Mentoring Competency Assessment (MCA), a brief open-ended qualitative survey, and a semi-structured exit interview. Surveys were completed at baseline (Time 1), 6 months, and at the end of PRIDE-FTG participation (Time 2). The following results were obtained. Between Time 1 and Time 2, mentees' self-assessment scores increased for the MCA (p < 0.01) with significant increases in effective communication (p < 0.001), aligning expectations (p < 0.05), assessing understanding (p < 0.01), and addressing diversity (p < 0.002). Mentees rated their peer mentors higher in the MCA with significant differences noted for promoting development (p < 0.027). These data suggest that PRIDE-FTG peer mentoring approaches successfully improved MCA competencies among URM junior faculty participants with faculty ranking peer mentors higher than themselves. Among URM faculty, peer mentoring initiatives should be investigated as a key strategy to support early career scholar development.

Exploring the differential effects of career and psychosocial mentoring on newcomer socialization

Drawing on the social cognitive career theory, this study proposed an integrative framework to uncover how and when different types of mentoring accelerate newcomer’s socialization in corresponding domains. We tested this relational model with time-lagged, multisource survey data collected from 157 newcomers and 88 supervisors. The results indicated that career mentoring facilitated newcomer task mastery, task performance, and job satisfaction by improving newcomer occupational self-efficacy, whereas psychosocial mentoring promoted newcomer job satisfaction and social integration via inspiring newcomer social self-efficacy. Furthermore, newcomer learning adaptability amplified the influence of career mentoring on newcomer occupational self-efficacy, as well as the impact of psychosocial mentoring on newcomer social self-efficacy. Our study extended the mentoring and socialization literature and provided significant practical implications for managers on how to arrange tailored mentoring to facilitate newcomer socialization.

Indigenous Mentorship in the Health Sciences: Actions and Approaches of Mentors

Phenomenon: Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars have called for mentorship as a viable approach to supporting the retention and professional development of Indigenous students in the health sciences. In the context of Canadian reconciliation efforts with Indigenous Peoples, we developed an Indigenous mentorship model that details behavioral themes that are distinct or unique from non-Indigenous mentorship.Approach: We used Flanagan's Critical Incidents Technique to derive mentorship behaviors from the literature, and focus groups with Indigenous faculty in the health sciences associated with the AIM-HI network funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Identified behaviors were analyzed using Lincoln and Guba's Cutting-and-Sorting technique.Findings: Confirming and extending research on mainstream mentorship, we identified behavioral themes for 1) basic mentoring interactions, 2) psychosocial support, 3) professional support, 4) academic support, and 5) job-specific support. Unique behavioral themes for Indigenous mentors included 1) utilizing a mentee-centered approach, 2) advocating on behalf of their mentees and encouraging them to advocate for themselves, 3) imbuing criticality, 4) teaching relationalism, 5) following traditional cultural protocols, and 6) fostering Indigenous identity.Insights: Mentorship involves interactive behaviors that support the academic, occupational, and psychosocial needs of the mentee. Indigenous mentees experience these needs differently than non-Indigenous mentees, as evidenced by mentor behaviors that are unique to Indigenous mentor and mentee dyads. Despite serving similar functions, mentorship varies across cultures in its approach, assumptions, and content. Mentorship programs designed for Indigenous participants should consider how standard models might fail to support their needs.

The Disparities Researchers Equalizing Access for Minorities (DREAM) Scholars program: career development for underrepresented health equity researchers

Diversity remains low among US colleges faculty, with only 3% identifying as Black or Hispanic. Moreover, underrepresented racial minority faculty often face unique challenges and are less likely than their white counterparts to earn higher academic rank, tenure, and funding, especially those who study health equity. We developed a novel program for health-equity focused pre-docs and junior faculty. The Disparities Researchers Equalizing Access for Minorities (DREAM) Scholars is a 24-month career development program led by the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) that provides pilot and travel funding, career development seminars, mentoring, and writing retreats. We report the outcomes of the first Scholar cohort (N = 10), pre-docs n = 6; assistant professors, n = 4; seven were Black, one Hispanic, two White, one who identified as non-binary. At the end of the program, Scholars coauthored 34 manuscripts, 9 abstracts and 8 grants. Semi-structured interviews revealed seven major program strengths: funding, support and sense of community, accountability, exposure to translational science, network expansion, and exposure to multidisciplinary peers. Scholars provided feedback useful for subsequent cohorts. The DREAM program provided accountability and fostered a sense of community, expanded professional networks and enhanced scholarly productivity. The program serves as a model for implementation throughout the CCTSs.

Introduction to effective mentorship for early-career research scientists

Diversifying the scientific workforce remains a national priority due to the continued lack of representation from underrepresented individuals in STEM fields. Quality mentoring has been identified as a stimulus to enhance not only research success, but also recruitment and retention of underrepresented groups pursuing STEM careers. Utilizing the Entering Mentoring training curriculum framework, this report provides a brief synopsis and key takeaways from the 2019 NIH-ASCB Accomplishing Career Transition (ACT) workshop, “Introduction to Effective Mentorship for Scientists” for 30 senior postdoctoral and early-career faculty researchers from historically underrepresented racial and ethnicity backgrounds. In addition, effective strategies and best practices to enhance STEM mentoring for early-career researchers are provided, which have practical applications for diverse mentoring relationships across disciplines, career stages, and mentee types.

Peer Mentor Development Program: Lessons Learned in Mentoring Racial/Ethnic Minority Faculty

Introduction

Mentorship is crucial for academic success. And yet, there are few mentoring programs that address the needs of underrepresented, racially/ethnically diverse junior faculty conducting health-related research in the United States.

Methods

To expand mentoring capacity for these racially/ethnically diverse faculty, we developed a Peer Mentor Development Program (PMDP) to prepare near-peers, who have similar characteristics and personal experiences, to provide support to participants in an NIH-PRIDE funded Institute. The PMDP program is designed based on the 8-year experience of the Mentor Development Program of the NYU-Health and Hospitals Clinical Translational Science Institute. Annually, up to six alumni are selected into the PMDP, participate in the 12-hour program over 4 days, are paired with 1 to 3 scholar participants to mentor and join monthly PMDP conference calls during the ensuing year.

Results

We describe the program, participant experience and lessons learned from our first 18 peer mentors in three PMDP cohorts. Additionally, all 18 peer mentors completed a post-evaluation survey to assess the program. Overall, peers agreed that participating in the PMDP enhanced most of the specific skills targeted. Participants rated 53%-86% of skills as "more than before" participating in PMDP, demonstrating the appreciation and impact of the program.

Conclusions

The PMDP may be a model for higher education and academic medicine programs committed to mentoring and retaining racially/ethnically diverse faculty and ultimately contributing to reducing entrenched health disparities between majority and minority populations.

A review of mentoring deaf and hard-of-hearing scholars

Diversification of the scientific workforce usually focuses on recruitment and retention of women and underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities but often overlooks deaf and hard-of hearing (D/HH) persons. Usually classified as a disability group, such persons are often members of their own sociocultural linguistic minority and deserve unique support. For them, access to technical and social information is often hindered by communication- and/or language-centered barriers, but securing and using communication access services is just a start. Critical aspects of training D/HH scientists as part of a diversified workforce necessitates: (a) educating hearing persons in cross-cultural dynamics pertaining to deafness, sign language, and Deaf culture; (b) ensuring access to formal and incidental information to support development of professional soft skills; and (c) understanding that institutional infrastructure change may be necessary to ensure success. Mentorship and training programs that implement these criteria are now creating a new generation of D/HH scientists.

Connecting Theory to Practice: Using Self-Determination Theory To Better Understand Inclusion in STEM

In the United States, persistence for women and ethnic minorities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers is strongly impacted by affective factors such as science identity, agency, and sense of belonging. Policies aimed at increasing the diversity of the national STEM student population and workforce have recently focused on fostering inclusive learning environments that can positively impact the experiences of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM, thus increasing their retention. While research on inclusion in STEM in higher education is relatively new, inclusion research has a rich history in several other disciplines. These fields have developed theoretical frameworks and validated instruments to conceptualize and assess inclusion. Self-determination theory (SDT) is a well-established theoretical framework in educational psychology that states that ones' internal motivation is strongly correlated with the satisfaction of three specific psychological needs: autonomy, competency, and relatedness. In this paper, we introduce SDT and discuss how it relates to inclusion and to ongoing efforts to increase retention of STEM URM students in higher education environments. We argue that grounding inclusion initiatives in the SDT framework increases our understanding of the mechanisms mediating their impact, thus facilitating their reproducibility and generalizability. Finally, we describe how this theoretical framework has been adapted by the field of Industrial and Organizational Psychology to define and assess inclusion in the workplace as an example of how STEM education researchers can use this framework to promote and assess inclusion in their fields.

The Influence of Social Supports on Graduate Student Persistence in Biomedical Fields

Pathways to biomedical careers are not being pursued with equal vigilance among all students. Emerging research shows that historically underrepresented (HU) students who maintain a strong science identity are more likely to persist. However, the influence of social support on persistence is less studied, especially as it relates to science identity among doctoral students. To fill this gap, a 1-year study to assess similarities and differences among 101 HU and majority biomedical doctoral students was conducted to measure the extent to which 1) they report equivalent experiences of social support, science identity, and intentions to persist; 2) their experiences of social support predict intentions to persist 1 year later; and 3) science identity mediates the relationship between social support and intentions to persist in biomedical career pathways. Data were collected using online surveys. Results indicated that science identity significantly mediated the relationship between professional network support and persistence a year later for majority students. In contrast, for HU students, science identity mediated the relationship between instrumental, psychosocial, friend and family support, and persistence a year later. These study results provide evidence that reinforcing mentoring programs and support systems will be beneficial, especially for HU students.

Perspective: Sistas In Science - Cracking the Glass Ceiling

In this perspective, we describe our experience as women of color scientists from diverse backgrounds and similar struggles embarking upon the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute-funded program called PRIDE (Programs to Increase Diversity among Underrepresented Minorities Engaged in Health-Related Research). Under the leadership of our mentor and friend, Betty Pace, MD, a renowned and successful African American physician-scientist, the PRIDE Program was designed to address the difficulties experienced by junior-level minority investigators in establishing independent research programs and negotiating tenure and full professor status at academic institutions. The strength of PRIDE's innovative formula was pairing us with external senior mentors and, importantly, allowing us to serve as peer mentors to each other. We believe this "Sister's Keeper" paradigm is one solution for women to overcome their limitations and extend understandings and best practices worldwide for science, medicine, and global health.