Rehabilitation Sciences Sector Diversity Mentorship Program

The Rehabilitation Sciences Sector (RSS) recognizes that learners in MScOT, MScPT and MHSc-SLP programs who come from social, cultural, and or economically diverse communities face increased barriers in their academic and career journeys. Many recommendations and calls to action highlight how invaluable mentorship is in creating a welcoming, inclusive and safe community.

The RSS Diversity Mentorship Program (DMP) aims to address these needs for connection. Current learners can apply to be matched with a clinician mentor who is able to support in their educational and professional development.

This program is open to MScOT, MScPT and MHScSLP students from social, cultural, and or economically diverse communities.

The main purpose of the RSS DMP is to help ensure that learners from socially, culturally or economically diverse communities can explore their full potential as students and as future healthcare professionals. Learner mentees who are matched with a mentor are then encouraged to take leadership in the relationship, to ensure that they are able to get the most value from their experience.

The program components include:

• To attend a Welcome Orientation/Training event (in-person and online options available)
• To co-create a mentorship agreement which clearly states role, responsibilities, objectives and expectations of the mentorship relationship. Mentorship agreements cover the period between November 2024 to the end of July 2025.
• To invest, at the very least, 2 hours of meeting time with your assigned mentor/mentee for each term of the academic year. This may be done in a variety of agreed upon methods, including phone calls and video chats.
• To respond to requests for progress and updates from the Office of Learner Affairs in each term.
• To provide feedback for the purposes of evaluating the RSS DMP program at the midpoint and closing of the program
• Option to join additional events/activities.

Connections within the mentorship can be done through in-person meetings, phone calls, video chats, or other agreed upon forms of remote communication.

Contact

Any further questions about the RSS DMP can be directed to medicine.dmp@utoronto.ca.

For Learner Mentees

The first round of matching has been completed. If you would like to participate in the RSS Diversity Mentorship Program this year, please complete the form below and the program coordinator will reach out to you.

RSS DMP Mentee Application 2024-25

For Faculty Mentors

Any clinicians who are interested in equity, diversity, inclusion, Indigeneity and accessibility, and being an ally to minoritized learners in medicine are eligible to apply.

Please apply via the link below or contact medicine.dmp@utoronto.ca. If there is no match available in 2024-25, with your permission your submission can be kept on file to reach out for a match in the following year.

RSS DMP Mentor Application 2024-25