Mentoring in Nursing

46). The registered nurse mentor will acts as teachers by sharing knowledge and expertise, counselors by providing psychological support. May act as interveners by providing access to resources and protection, and sponsors by promoting the prestige as he or she facilitates self- reliance. This will provide the mentor with self-assurance, job approval, promotions, managerial skills, and problem-solving skills (Gordon, 2000)

Throughout this clinical semester, I have worked with several different registered nurses (RNs) and have been able to develop mentoring relationships with many of the staff on the unit. During our time together, I interviewed several of my nurse mentors and elicited information regarding their nursing experiences and the culture of the environment in which they work. The following conversations provide a summarization of my nurse mentors’ responses to the selected interview questions.

The new graduate nurses (NGN) are faced with various issues and challenges especially in their first year of nursing practice. The period of transition from a student to a graduate nurse is a demanding period that is filled with new experiences and there are several concerns and factors that can affect the transition process. The research into the issues has recommended some strategies that can be utilised to ease the transition process from being a student to a professional practicing nurse. Exhaustion, reality shock and time management are some of the factors and issues that the new graduate might encounter during their first year in their career.

Transitioning from nursing school to working in a hospital setting can be a challenging time for a new graduate. Due to the nursing shortage, new graduate nurses are being hired with little to no experience. This is overwhelming for new nurses, especially when they are not getting adequate support or training from the hospital. The amount of stress, pressure, and lack of training is leading to a high turnover rate for new graduate nurses. With patient acuity on the rise, new graduate nurses that are filling these vacancies in the hospitals, need to be competent nurses to provide proper and safe care to the patients.

You are a nurse who works in a busy A&E department in a city hospital. Because you are experienced and highly regarded your manager has asked you to mentor some new nurses who have just qualified.

After several grueling years of nursing school, most new nurses are eager to enter the work force. Before they are fully entrusted with the lives of others, they must first spend time precepting with a more seasoned nurse. This precepting allows the new graduate to gain some experience and possible insight while being guided throughout the process. Unfortunately, not all graduates have a positive experience with their preceptors. Some preceptors can be intimidating and overbearing. Others may be too carefree and fail to properly prepare their students for the potential consequences of their actions. In the next several paragraphs I will explore research on the benefits of working closely with a preceptor in the nursing field, what qualities and characteristics are present in a successful preceptor, and how we can improve on the precepting process.

Clutterbuck & Megginson (1999, p.17) describe mentoring as being like ‘standing in front of a mirror with a trusted other, who can help you see things that you do not know how to see, or that have become too familiar for you to notice’. It is a helping relationship between an individual with potential and an individual with expertise. This multi-dimensional relationship is a partnership between those in similar roles, who can support each other. A number of roles of the mentor have been listed by Bolton (2010, p.193): role model, enabler, teacher, encourager, counsellor, befriender, facilitator, coach, confidante, supporter and ‘un-learner’. To be successful roles and responsibilities of those involved need to be clear and they need to be matched to each other and understand expectations of them.

Schaeffer advances to stress the importance of properly training new staff without having to rely on the experienced nurses. She also warns that as the retirement of experienced nurses rises, there may not be enough training for the new

This approach did not address the serious issue of the knowledge and skill base of older nurses, Hospitals and health care organizations quickly concluded that while it is essential to recruit new people into nursing, it is as crucial to retain older, more experienced nurses in the workforce.. The endeavor of this proposal is to explore ways to facilitate nurses in dealing with demands while passing on the benefit of their expertise to younger colleagues. A detailed account has been provided of the most important factors and outlined strategies or measures that could be engaged to keep both beginner and expert nurses from leaving the hospital setting. Findings from the research proposal can assist healthcare administrators in drawing and retaining nurses in hospital settings. Retaining the highest quality and adequate quantity of nurses is the assurance of a successful organization (Runy, 2006).

For many clinical experiences, the instructor assigns a nurse mentor to work with the student for that clinical experience. Some nurse mentors may have negative feelings about having to mentor students, may not take the time to explain things to students, or teach them how to do nursing care. The nurse mentor has the potential to positively or negatively affect the student’s learning experience based on their willingness to work with and teach nursing students.

MacLellan, Levett-Jones, & Higgins (2016) found that lack of support as one the challenges new NP’s reported which is when the senior NP’s knowingly withhold information that would have been helpful and or the refusal to guide the new NP when guidance is needed. Another was a power struggle between nurses, new NP’s and senior NP’s which creates a stressful environment for the new NP who is trying to survive. New NP’s are already coming into employment feeling insecure, anxious, and overwhelmed, so any unnecessary challenges by the senior NP’s or other healthcare providers only contribute to the factors that hinder a successful transition role. As an employee retention program, many companies, schools, and healthcare organizations have established a mentoring program, and the purpose of a mentor is to provide guidance and support to a mentee such as a new NP practitioner in order to reduce the uneasy feeling of entering a new chapter of personal, professional or academic life changes (Mijares, Baxley, & Bond,

The article by Bally Jill (2007) identifies that nursing leadership can use mentoring culture to achieve professional and career development in nursing, and increase the quality of care given, especially for acute care nurses. This is because the article finds that nurses often have low morale, heavy workloads, high patient acuity, apathy towards professional collegial support, and reduced resources. The article identifies that mentoring in

As a Registered Nurse I have had the opportunity to be a preceptor to a number of nursing students. I take this role very seriously as I am aware of the impact that my mentoring has on the students’ learning experience, competence and satisfaction

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) defines the role of a mentor as a nurse with specific training who is able to facilitate learning, and supports and supervises students in a practice setting (NMC 2008). Mentorship plays an integral part in the next generation of practitioners and nursing professionals play a vital role in guiding a process that allows the transference of knowledge, skills and attributes from healthcare professionals to the students they are working with (English National Board and Department of Health 2001).

A Nursing Times survey identified that, while mentors are aware of the value of mentoring students (Gainsbury, 2010), they are challenged as to how to commit fully to the role within the constant demands of their core job. They identified that work demands had a significant impact on their ability to engage in mentor activities, such as mentoring students and attending updates and relevant courses. Mentors have also expressed concerns about accountability and supporting failing students (Duffy and Hardicre, 2007). Mentorship preparation and the ongoing development of nurse mentors www.nursingtimes.net / Vol 107 No 21 / Nursing Times 31.05.11 15 Nursing Practice Review 5 key points 1 Nurses and midwives have a responsibility to continually develop themselves for professional growth Mentors play a pivotal role in protecting the public by ensuring students are fit for purpose and practice 2 3