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Analysis Of ' Odyssey ' By Homer 's Odyssey

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In recent years there has been major changes in the education of student nurses, from the old system where nurses were educated on the job as an equal part of the workforce, to the system in operation now where students have strictly protected supernumerary status when out in practice (Eaton, 2012), this change has resulted in registered nurses taking on a greater responsibility in the education of student nurses, becoming mentors, who ultimately decide if students are competent to become nurses at the end of their training (NMC, 2015). The NMC recommends that newly qualified staff undergo a period of preceptorship in which they are mentored by an experienced member of staff through the initial weeks or months in their new role (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2006).
The literature surrounding the subject of mentorship is vast and fails to provide a single definition, however the terms used are often similar. Colley (2000) writes that the word mentor originated in Homer’s poem ‘Odyssey’ in which the character oversees the development of Telemachus. Usually mentoring describes the process of an experienced team member using their skills and knowledge to educate and develop a junior or less skilled co-worker (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2014). When looking at mentorship from a nursing perspective there is a much greater emphasis on the relationship built between mentor and student and the unique need to reach specific goals in a given tie period

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