Participant Experiences with EMPOWER: Benefits, Barriers, and Best Practices for an Online Peer Mentorship and Leadership Program for Women in Academic Medicine

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Background: We developed the Engaging Peer Mentors for Opportunity, Well-Being, and Equity Realization (EMPOWER) program to provide leadership training and peer mentoring in a virtual, scalable format. Designed to be widely accessible to women leaders in academic medicine, it combined an asynchronous online curriculum with 1 hour per month group meetings via teleconference with peers and a faculty advisor. This qualitative study assessed the program’s feasibility and impact as well as identified areas for quality improvement. Methods: We conducted individual interviews with 34 program participants as well as focus groups with 14 faculty advisors. These were conducted virtually at the program midpoint and following program completion. The Framework Method informed qualitative analysis. Results: Beneficial program outcomes included knowledge acquisition/skill development, new or different ways of thinking, a sense of empowerment/self-confidence, and the clarification of personal values/goals. Monthly, 1-hour peer meetings appeared to further facilitate learning and practical application. Barriers included a lack of time to complete didactic activities and to attend group meetings, limitations of an online/virtual format, individual circumstances, and idiosyncratic group dynamics. Recommendations to improve quality and establish best practices included clear communication of well-defined aims/expectations, tailored programming, efficient use of time, minimization of labor/mental load, and enhanced online community-building. Conclusions: The benefits program participants and their faculty advisors described reinforce the value of gender-aware leadership development programs, especially those that include peer mentoring. By enhancing accessibility, engagement, and flexibility, programs such as EMPOWER can become more inclusive and effective, ensuring that all promising leaders can thrive in academic medicine.

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