Mentoring Matters: Enhancing Occupational Therapy Capstone Experiences Through Effective Mentorship

Mentoring plays a crucial role in occupational therapy education, particularly in doctoral capstone experiences. Yet, specific assessment tools tailored to the profession are lacking. This study aimed to gather insights from occupational therapy stakeholders on mentor qualities and skills essential for capstone success. The authors employed a descriptive, cross-sectional study design using an interactive poster featuring the Mentor Competency Assessment (MCA) domains and the ACOTE-defined capstone focus areas. Data were collected at two occupational therapy events using ordinal ranking methodology.Fifty-three participants identified their occupational therapy roles and ranked mentor skills and capstone focus areas. Effective communication was consistently identified as the most crucial mentor skill across all participant roles. Program development, clinical skills, and education emerged as primary capstone focus areas.The study underscores the importance of effective communication in mentor-mentee relationships in occupational therapy capstone experiences. It highlights the need for tailored mentor assessment tools to better support mentor preparation and enhance capstone outcomes.