Enlivening a Community of Authentic Scholarship

Abstract

Background: Critical and engaged qualitative scholarship depends on high-quality graduate training. The need to reexamine graduate student mentorship has become particularly pressing, given the high level of mental health distress experienced by students. It is unclear whether mentorship emerging within the student–advisor relationship is sufficient to ensure comprehensive mentorship. Innovative, experiential pedagogical approaches that integrate emotional and intellectual aspects are limited but may play a vital role in mentorship. There is a critical need to develop and study creative mentorship initiatives for emerging qualitative scholars. Methods: This study used interpretive description methodology and a community of practice theoretical framework to describe a faculty-mentored experience for graduate nursing students at the 2016 Qualitative Health Research Conference (FM-QHR) hosted by the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology. Participants completed written journals elucidating their experiences throughout FM-QHR. The textual data were analyzed using a constant comparative group analysis process, leading to the development of salient and interconnected themes. Results: Six graduate students and four faculty mentors submitted journals. Three interrelated themes articulate how this FM-QHR initiative enlivened a community of authentic scholarship: Questioning the Academic Self: Unvoiced Experiences of Angst, Uncertainty, and Fear; Cocreating Authentic Community through Shared Vulnerability; and Generative and Emergent Empowerment. Conclusion: These findings provide compelling insights into the importance of assisting students to navigate the emotional experiences that are a part of qualitative graduate training. Relational, mentorship initiatives hold potential to not only alleviate emotional distress but also support student empowerment, socialization, and entrance into a community of international qualitative researchers.