Nursing Mentorship Summary

The report encouraged the assessment of NRPs’ efficacy, predominantly their capability to enhance patient outcomes, nurse retention, and professional proficiency. Despite the increasing amount of research on residency program outcomes, best practices for implementation are still changing. Therefore, this paper focuses on the best practice recommendations. NRPs have made a tremendous impact on the nursing field to both novice nurses as well as the expert nurse. The main themes appearing when reviewing the literature were reports about clinical competency, preparing new graduates for interprofessional teamwork, training, orientation, and mentorship for newly graduated nurses. These topics will be discussed in this paper as they pertain to nurse residency programs and newly licensed

Currently my facility has a six to months mentoring program for new graduates. This program is in addition to the current preceptor program that orients the new graduates to the unit they will be assigned. Most of these new nurses are graduates from local nursing schools and have done most of their clinical nursing education at this facility. The hospital realizes that going from a classroom and clinical setting to on hands bedside patient care can be a

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.

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.

There have been several studies exploring the development, implementation and evaluation of preceptor programs for advanced practice nurses. Bahouth and Esposito-Herr (2009) described a formal, 12-week orientation program for newly graduated nurse practitioners that helped to integrate those providers into the clinical teams. One part of their program was the assignment of a NP preceptor for the new employee, which was found to be effective in reducing the new NPs feelings of isolation. In addition, Baumgartner and Williams (2014) developed and evaluated a mentoring pilot project, inclusive of a variety of advanced practice providers (APPs), which supported the program’s ability to improve inter- professional networks and system supports. Furthermore, Sorensen (2010) developed an orientation and mentoring program for APRNs and physician assistants.

The challenge Brooks& Moriarty(2009) feel is whilst providing sufficient support and supervision for fellow colleagues and learners it is of equal importance that the needs of the patient are being adequately met. They feel the main challenge that mentors face is upholding and overseeing the student and their learning, is equally as important that the needs of the patient and that they are being sufficiently met. Nettleton&Bray(2008) suggests that the mentors knowledge , attitude and communication skills are all influential factors that can affect a student’s ability to learn. This is recognised by Cassidy(2009) who advocates that by ensuring quality mentor-student relationships a more positive learning environment for the student will be achieved. However Pearcy&Elliot(2004) argue that due to the ever changing practice environment, the clinical setting has the potential to restrict and impede on the student nurse. They feel this location can be unstructured, unpredictable and overwhelming, thus generating feelings of vulnerability and anxiety amongst students(Papp et al,2003). A further constructive aspect of this situation was the immediate apology given to Mabel. Armstrong (2009) recognises the weight of a genuine apology and feels that although this is sometimes a difficult process, it undoubtedly has huge benefits and the potential help the both the patient and the nurse.

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

Nursing school provides theoretical knowledge of basic nursing care concepts, but the limited exposure in the clinical practice setting makes transitioning into the role of the professional nurse very difficult for new graduate nurses (Ellis & Hartley, 2012). A study performed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, revealed many employers feel that newly licensed RNs are not fully prepared to perform common tasks in a basic practice setting, thus resulting in a 27.1% turnover rate for first year nurses (Dresher-Crumpley & McElroy, 2015)). The Journal of Nursing Administration (2008) revealed the average

In order to increase new RN job satisfaction and retention, a mentorship program approach is vital for the success of new registered nurses and the success of the healthcare organization. The qualitative studies presented in this chapter involve experienced nurse mentors providing guidance, assistance, and ongoing support to newly hired or newly graduated RNs/mentees throughout the 12-month mentorship programs (Fox, 2010, p. 9). According to the 2010 Institute of Medicine report, the nursing workforce can be substantially strengthened and the quality of care and patient outcomes can be dramatically improved through nurse mentorship (p. 3). The three studies introduced in this chapter demonstrate the outcomes for nurses who have participated

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

Mentoring in nursing practice has been thought of as a beneficial way of increasing nursing knowledge for several decades (Stewart & Krueger, 1996, pg. 311). However, the concept of mentoring had not been defined or analyzed, which made researching its effectiveness useless. This concept analysis of mentoring in nursing practice shows that mentoring can be mutually beneficial for a mentor, protégé, and nursing practice. However, further research on this concept is necessary to determine the broader application to nursing as a scientific discipline.