Question

What is your understanding of mentoring? Why do nurses need mentors?

Give a brief summary of each section of this paper.

1. Mentoring in Nursing

2. Benefits of Mentoring

3. Mentoring Relationships

4. Characteristics of a Healthy Mentor-Mentee Relationship

5. Mentoring Cycle

6. Reflection in Mentoring

7. Barriers to Mentoring

Answer 1

First let’s understand certain concepts first

Understanding Mentoring

Meaning of mentoring

Mentoring is the act of guiding, sharing the knowledge, experience and wisdom which one have acquired through the practice of a profession, thus help an individual who wants to make his professional career fruitful.

Meaning of a mentor

Mentor is a person with advanced exposure, knowledge and experience in a profession who is capable of building an individual to his/her level of achievement.

Why nurses need mentors?

Nursing is a profession requiring quick decision-making, demonstrating explicit clinical skills, adapting appropriately with the requirement of situation and overall making a significant impact on the outcome of care. These skills cannot be acquired overnight and require an experienced professional with leadership quality to instil confidence, professionalism, accountability, provide quality advices and act as a role model in designing and delivering the care packages.

Answering the subparts of the questions

Q1. Mentoring in nursing

A: The need for mentoring in nursing explained with examples.

Getting Introduced: Let’s assume a scenario in which a new graduate nurse is posted in the emergency department. In order to get acquainted with the different settings and arrangement of emergency department and familiarize on the protocols, policies and routines he/she needs a mentor. The role of the mentor is support and advice the new nurse in learning and comprehension.

Building Expertise: From the example above, while doing a procedure (like intravenous infusion) the mentor offers supervision, explains practical tips and enhances the confidence within the new nurse.

Lateral reflection: As the new nurse possess fresh theoretical knowledge, he/she can also support the mentor as well as the colleagues in the practice of a newly introduced procedure.

Thus, mentoring is an essential component in orientation, tracking and development of a new professional. Mentoring should provide base for flexibility and acceptance.

Q2. Benefits of mentoring?

A: The benefits of mentoring can be discussed under two headings

Benefits to Mentee

• Orientation and initial induction to the clinical setting
• Gaining expertise in skilled procedures (procedures which are considered to be complex)
• Setting a positive attitude to the career
• Gaining practical advices and skills
• Professional advancement
• Developing professional traits

Benefits to Mentor

• Development of professional leadership qualities
• Opportunity to learn and get exposed to new horizons
• Getting new perspectives, ideas regarding the current advancements
• Keep the unit standards at the most optimum level

Q3. Mentoring relationships

A: Mentoring relationships are established to gain new information, get advised timely at complicated situations, to get multifaceted alternatives/solutions, to evaluate and receive feedbacks, and to advance further in profession. There are certain important ingredients in mentoring relationships like commitment, positive regard to criticism, supervision, reflection of learning in behaviour, error minimization and professional closeness with the mentor.

Mentoring relationships happens systematically in three phases. In first phase, the mentee discusses his goals and expected outcomes. In the second phase, the mentor demonstrates professional supervision over a time period and come out strategies to fill up the lacunae assessed. The coaching on essential skills happens in this period. In the third phase, mentor accepts that mentee has acquired accepted level of exposure and he/she can perform independently.

Q4. Characteristics of a healthy mentor-mentee relationship

A: (i) Mutual trust

(ii) Reality Oriented

(iii) Morale building

(iv) Flexibility (in both directions)

(v) Acceptance and positive regard

(vi) Value based

(vii) Within professional boundaries

(viii) Utilization of available resources in the most economical way

(ix) Sharing of skills and knowledge

(x) Focussed on optimal output/patient outcome.

Q5: Mentoring Cycle

A: There are four phases in mentoring cycle;

Phase I – Prepare

• Meet- build rapport
• Engage – setting out expectations

Phase II- Initiate

• Negotiate and transform - provide clarifications and provide time for adaptation to skill

Phase III – Cultivate

• Obtain the essentials - accomplishing the expectations

Phase IV – Evaluate

• Feedback – to monitor the progress
• Release – achieved/gained mastery in skills

Q6. Reflections in mentoring

A: Positive reflections in mentoring

• The progressive professional growth of mentor and mentee is a positive reflection Bi-directional knowledge advancement (downward and upward between the two)
• Translation to practice which is scientific, rational and ethical

Negative reflections in mentoring

• Exploitative nature of power relationship
• Professional VS Personal closeness (transference and counter transference)
• Occupational slavery and burn out

Q7. Barriers to Mentoring

A: The main barriers in mentoring process are;

• Emotional Instability of both mentor and mentee
• Shorter time spans for mentoring
• Situation demanding competitive/ more aggressive measures
• Mentee feeling of under achievement
• Crossing the professional boundaries
• Mentor work overload
• Mutual disagreement on expectations and goals
• Lack of non-uniform tools for mentee assessment.