“I have a sis in the profession for life, that’s who my mentor is”: evaluating a pilot mentoring programme for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander speech pathology students and professionals

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face significant challenges in accessing mainstream health services due to the ongoing impacts of racism, colonisation, and intergenerational trauma. To address health inequalities, it is important to build Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce capacity in the health professions where there is significant under-representation. A pilot mentoring programme was developed to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ear and hearing health professionals and students, which aimed to understand their expectations and experiences. Six participants enrolled in the study, two mentors and four mentees, all from a speech pathology background. The study found that maintaining relationships with other Aboriginal speech pathologists was vital for longevity in the profession. The study stresses the importance of workplaces and universities ensuring that individuals are not thrown into culturally unsafe situations and that they are culturally safe and responsive.