What is a nursing mentor? A nurse mentor is an experienced, sometimes highly credentialed nurse who serves as a role model, guide, and advocate for a new nurse. Mentorship in nursing elevates the standard of care and contributes to better patient outcomes while encouraging ongoing professional development.
One of the fantastic aspects of working in the nursing field is that healthcare is continually evolving. That translates to countless opportunities for nurses to continue to grow, refine their nursing knowledge, and contribute to better patient outcomes.
As a career, nursing can be highly meaningful and fulfilling, and it is often helpful to navigate the nursing landscape with a mentor by your side. Mentorship in nursing benefits all parties involved, as well as the healthcare organization itself. Nursing mentorship, like that in Mercer University’s Second Degree Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) track, supports professional growth and helps nurses keep up with changes in the field. So, what exactly is a nursing mentor and how can one help you to grow as a student and professional? Below we will explore some of the fundamentals of mentorship in the nursing field.
What Is a Nursing Mentor?
A nursing mentor is typically an experienced nurse who takes a new nurse under their wing to provide positive support, encouragement, and guidance. New nurses often experience a learning curve when they begin their first nursing job. Although a nursing education like Mercer’s ABSN track will thoroughly prepare you for professional practice, new nurses must still adapt to the workplace and the hospital’s policies and procedures, and learn how to work as part of a patient care team. A mentor helps new nurses transition into their careers and build on their education.
A nursing mentor can serve as a teacher, advocate, and role model, and sometimes even as a counselor. Mentors might even become friends, inspiring mentees to achieve their true potential, provide excellent nursing care, and further their professional development.
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Characteristics of Nursing Mentors
Every mentor brings their unique strengths and talents to the mentoring relationship. Some are exceptionally gifted at motivating and inspiring their mentees, while others excel at providing practical advice and teaching mentees how to become better nurses.
What mentors tend to share in common is years of experience in the field. Some of them may also have advanced credentials. Furthermore, effective nursing mentors tend to share the following attributes and skills:
- Communication skills
- Approachable and trustworthy personality
- Positive role model
- Nonjudgmental; open mindset
- Compassion and empathy
- Strong problem-solving and decision-making skills
Furthermore, mentors in the nursing field tend to be committed to lifelong learning and professional development. They are true professionals who encourage everyone around them to thrive.
Importance of Mentoring in Nursing
In any profession, it is helpful to know who to turn to when questions arise. In the nursing field, this can be especially important, as nurses must be able to confidently intervene even in a quickly evolving situation. As beneficial as mentorship is for new nurses, however, it also offers benefits to the nursing mentor as well as the healthcare organization and, of course, the patients.
Benefits for Mentees
When a new nurse establishes a relationship with a mentor, they can look forward to being inspired, encouraged, and supported as they work to elevate their standard of practice and enhance their career trajectory. Mentorship in nursing can help nursing students or new nurses by:
- Facilitating the adjustment to a new healthcare environment through teaching customary procedures and policies
- Helping mentees refine their clinical decision-making skills
- Providing general advice about professional development and career advancement
Mentees may discover they feel more confident in the workplace when they begin working with a nursing mentor.
Benefits for Mentors
Mentoring in nursing is not a one-way relationship; the mentor can also benefit from the arrangement. Working with a mentee can expose the mentor to fresh, new perspectives on healthcare issues. Mentors may also be able to learn from generational differences and develop stronger cultural awareness. Furthermore, mentors can work toward building a stronger, more supportive workplace culture. All of these benefits may empower mentors to feel a renewed sense of purpose in the workplace.
Benefits for Patients
Although nursing school prepares nurses with the foundational knowledge necessary to begin providing patient care, nursing is a profession that requires a lifelong commitment to learning and continual professional development. Inexperienced nurses who are mentored by seasoned nurses may be less likely to make mistakes and more likely to contribute to better patient outcomes. Patients are the end beneficiaries of a collaborative healthcare environment.
Benefits for Healthcare Organizations
Mentoring in nursing not only allows the people involved to flourish, but it also enables the healthcare organization as a whole to improve. When a healthcare organization establishes a nursing mentorship program, both staff and patients can experience benefits including:
- More positive, supportive workplace culture
- Reduced staff turnover rate
- Enhanced facility recruitment efforts
- Better patient outcomes
- Reputation for professional excellence
Fundamentals of Nursing Mentorship Program
Some healthcare organizations may establish formal nursing mentorship programs to encourage experienced nurses to become mentors and to provide a pathway for doing so. Mentorship programs may also be found within professional associations for nurses.
Although there are no universal “rules” for a mentorship program in nursing, it can be helpful to encourage mentoring relationships to feature the following:
- The parties should identify specific goals, such as improvement of clinical decision-making skills.
- Both mentor and mentee should engage in clear, open communication and establish agreed-upon professional boundaries.
- Both parties, but especially the mentee, must devote themselves to professional development and ongoing learning.
- The parties should regularly meet or check in with each other on a predetermined schedule.
Although a formal nursing mentorship program can be beneficial, it is important to note that it is not strictly necessary. An experienced nurse may serve as a mentor for any new nurse who is receptive to mentorship, whether or not there is a formal arrangement. The relationship may develop naturally over time, or one of the parties may request it.
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How to Become a Nursing Mentor
As you progress in your career, you may want to give back to the field through nursing mentorship. If you have strong communication skills and find yourself at a point in your career where you can share your knowledge and wisdom with others, then the first step may be to reach out to your healthcare facility’s human resources (HR) department. You may be able to join an established mentorship program or encourage the HR department to develop one.
Other options for becoming a nurse mentor could include:
- Contact a professional nursing association that offers a mentorship program, such as the American Nurses Association (ANA).
- Contact a nearby nursing college and volunteer to be a mentor to students.
- Develop a good rapport with a new nurse in your department or elsewhere in your facility, and offer to serve as their mentor.
Begin Your Nursing Career at Mercer University
Are you ready to pursue a meaningful career in nursing? At Mercer University, you will benefit from our supportive learning environment and comprehensive curriculum. Our Second Degree ABSN track is designed for students who have completed a non-nursing bachelor’s degree. By leveraging your past education, you could graduate with your nursing degree in as little as 12 months upon successful completion of any needed prerequisites.
When you are ready to get started, our enrollment counselors will be here to help. Contact us today to find out if the ABSN track is a good fit for you.