Who Should Mentor Me? Giving a Voice to Black Women Athletic Training Students

Context: Black women are dramatically underrepresented in the health care profession of athletic training. It may be theorized that one of the reasons more black female students are not entering into the profession of athletic training is that they do not have adequate mentors to successfully guide them. Objective: The purpose of our qualitative study was to examine the perceived effects of mentoring on the retention and credentialing of black women athletic trainers. Design: Qualitative. Setting: Clinical settings. Patients or Other Participants: Ten certified athletic trainers who self-designate as black women. Main Outcome Measure(s): We conducted one-on-one phone interviews and follow-up on personal case study interviews, which were transcribed verbatim. We performed constant comparative analysis of the data and established trustworthiness via member checks and peer review. Results: (1) Mentoring promotes matriculation and successful college completion and credentialing of black women athletic training students, and (2) although shared race and gender are favorable mentor characteristics, accessibility and approachability are more essential traits of mentors. Conclusions: These findings offer athletic training educators potential insight into ways to improve the athletic training educational success of black women enrolled in athletic training education programs that may lead to their increased participation/advancement in the athletic training profession.