🔗 linkedin.com/in/christopher-cesario-010a553

Research Focus: LGBTQ+ Student Experience • Clinical Education • Mentorship

“Beyond an Ally: Identity-Concordant Mentorship for LGBTQ+ Doctor of Physical Therapy Students During Full-Time Clinical Education Experiences”

What research challenge did your dissertation address?

LGBTQ+ Doctor of Physical Therapy students face a distinct challenge during full-time clinical education: deciding whether, when, and how to disclose their sexual orientation or gender identity to supervising clinical instructors, staff, and patients, on top of the stress already built into one of the most demanding components of DPT training. For LGBTQ+ students, that stress is intensified by minority stress and safety concerns in settings where campus-based support systems are no longer available, yet little research has examined how these dynamics play out specifically for PT students, or what support actually helps. My two-cycle action research design first surfaced what allyship looks like directly from LGBTQ+ DPT students, then translated those findings into a structured, identity-concordant mentorship program.

What inspired you to pursue this research?

My interest began nearly seven years ago, in my role as Director of Clinical Education for Northeastern’s DPT program. A student contacted me after a difficult moment during a clinical placement: a patient had made disparaging comments about the LGBTQ+ community, and the student, without having disclosed her own identity to that patient or her supervising instructor, was left to navigate the emotional weight of that exchange on her own. Supporting her meant confronting how little our clinical education systems had considered experiences like hers, and how many other LGBTQ+ students might be quietly managing similar decisions about disclosure and safety with no formal structures in place.

What did your research find, and what is its impact?

Cycle 1 revealed how LGBTQ+ DPT students navigate identity visibility during clinical education and rely on allyship for support. That informed Cycle 2: a structured, identity-concordant mentorship program pairing seven LGBTQ+ DPT students with seven LGBTQ+ licensed physical therapists during their clinical placements. Every pair reported that the relationship had a meaningful impact despite its short duration: students described feeling supported, validated, and empowered, and many used the mentoring relationship to develop their professional identity as LGBTQ+ physical therapists, not just to manage identity-related concerns. This addresses a real gap in PT education, where identity-concordant mentorship has been largely absent despite its use in other health professions, and suggests targeted mentorship can support belonging and professional identity during one of the most demanding phases of training.

“Every pair reported that the relationship had a meaningful impact despite its short duration: students described feeling supported, validated, and empowered.”

Christopher Cesario

Full dissertation: https://www.proquest.com/docview/3358484023/94DEE8CB47C4F56PQ/4?accountid=12826&sourcetype=Dissertations%20&%20Theses