This pilot project highlights the value to nursing leadership of group mentoring partnerships between academic and clinical settings, which can improve the integration of new nurses in the workplace and increase mentors' awareness of the needs of these nurses.
Aim This study describes the impact of a university‐based mentorship programme that is designed to prepare nursing students for the transition to practice during their last year of classes. Background Research shows that mentorship is an effective strategy for facilitating the transition to clinical practice. However, there is a lack of programmes that provide mentorship prior to the students' graduation from nursing school. Methods A mixed qualitative and quantitative approach was chosen to describe nursing students' perceptions. Mentees and mentors were invited to complete a survey or participate in an interview (September–November 2018). Results Nine participants were interviewed and 22 completed the survey. Four themes were found. Students were as follows: Feeling unsure and looking for answers from clinicians and wanted to Learn about practical real‐life situations. Their experiences allowed them to Normalize the entry to practice and become more prepared and capable to address pragmatic issues. Conclusions By bridging the academic and clinical environments, this mentorship programme helped mentees address their concerns and facilitated an easier transition to the workplace after graduation. Implications for Nursing Management Nurse managers can advocate for mentorship programmes by partnering with educational institutions. This support can also be continued as new graduates transition into their careers.
Background: Online educational programs for nurse preceptors have been created based on various theoretical frameworks; however, no programs using a Strengths-Based Nursing (SBN) approach could be located. Purpose: This qualitative descriptive study explored the nurse preceptors’ experiences in using a SBN approach to provide clinical teaching to nursing students after completing an online SBN clinical teaching course. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six nurses. Data was thematically analyzed. Findings: Although their levels of familiarity with SBN varied, all preceptors acknowledged that using a SBN approach in clinical teaching benefits both students and educators. They reported that it empowered students and that it allowed them to discover their strengths. Getting to know their students helped the preceptors provide tailored learning experiences and feedback. Using the SBN approach simultaneously enhanced the preceptors’ self-confidence and created opportunities for shared learning. Conclusion: Using a strengths’ approach offers nurse preceptors a powerful tool to facilitate student learning and skills development in clinical practice.
Objective: Evaluation of a nursing faculty mentorship program available to every faculty member regardless of seniority.Methods: Design: The faculty mentorship program was developed and implemented in a university-affiliated nursing department in Montreal in 2018. Mentors and mentees evaluated the program using self-reported surveys one-year post-implementation. The surveys addressed three main themes: (a) determining goals of the mentoring partnership; (b) overall level of satisfaction with the program; and (c) characteristics of each dyad’s mentoring agreement (strategies used to communicate, where the dyads met, etc.). Method: Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted.Results: A total of 19 mentees and 15 mentors completed the survey. The program was judged to be a worthwhile use of time by 89% of mentees and 93% of mentors. Even though specific mentoring needs differed according to seniority level, the program was shown to be beneficial to both less-experienced and more-experienced faculty. The main barriers to mentorship that were identified were related to timing, scheduling and time commitment issues. Clinical relevance: A successful mentorship program aimed at fostering relationships between nursing faculty members, regardless of seniority, has the potential to improve the productivity of a healthy workplace including the quality of both teaching and research.Conclusions: The mentorship program proposed herein was found to be useful and effective, as well as being beneficial as much for younger as for more experienced faculty members.
Since 2003, a university healthcare centre in Quebec (Canada) has offered its nursing leaders access to a long-term professional development program focusing on skills in Reflective Practice (RP). This program is based on teaching nursing leaders to interpret and reframe difficult, emotionally-charged situations they encounter on a regular basis, so they can improve their interpersonal interactions with their colleagues, patients, and patients’ families. This article describes the results of a qualitative study conducted in 2018 with 18 nursing leaders who participated for at least three years in the RP program. Participants were asked to describe their understanding of the RP approach, key learnings from the program, and parts of the training they found most valuable. They were also asked to define or share the program’s impact on their professional practice and leadership skills. It was found that the participants view RP as a useful tool for understanding and improving their interactions with others, and that it had led to concrete improvements in their interpersonal and leadership skills. Several of the positive changes described by participants are rarely described in other studies about the use of RP as a professional development tool in a clinical nursing setting. The results suggest that when nurse leaders have participated for several years in an RP program, they experience different benefits than front-line staff with less long-term participation.
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