Table 1 Education and training for promoting informal and formal peer support

For all students, to promote informal peer support encounters

 • Information about mental health symptoms, guidance on when, how and who to refer to, specific to context

 • Scripts and practice in expressing concern and broaching mental health topics

 • What to do in emergencies, red flags

 • Self-disclosure by peers, near-peers and role models emphasizing strengths-based management and careers advice

 • Accurate information about professional obligations and codes of conduct

 • Exploration of the value of peer relationships as emergent professional collegiality

For selected students in formal peer support programs

In addition to above

 • Explicit selection criteria e.g. previous experience and training, accessibility and ability to contribute, absence of vulnerability, academic performance not at risk

 • Role boundaries; when support should be paused, when to seek case advice, refer, how and to whom, specific to context

 • Enhanced training in mental health responses and reaching socially isolated students

 • Academic and/or clinical advice on demand 24/7

 • Program design includes succession planning