The lived experience of neophyte nursing instructors: mentorship and its role in their development

Abstract

Numerous studies have identified the need for the mentorship of nursing instructors, yet there is a gap in literature identifying outcomes of successful mentorship programs. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to uncover the lived experience of neophyte nursing instructors and the essence of the phenomenon of mentorship. Data were collected through individual interviews with six neophyte nursing instructors. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using a phenomenological procedural process. Four themes emerged: 1) what neophyte nurse educators want in a mentor, 2) identifying a new role, 3) mentorship experiences, and 4) becoming proficient as an instructor and mentor. This inquiry provides preliminary evidence-based knowledge for designing and implementing a mentorship program that is grounded in sound education principles, theory, and research.

Mixed methods systematic review exploring mentorship outcomes in nursing academia

“…Studies were conducted in Canada ( n = 4), Australia ( n = 2) and the USA ( n = 28) and captured diverse populations in nursing academia (mentors, mentees, nursing instructors, faculty and administration). Sample sizes ranged from 6 (Nowell , Terry )‐959 participants (Chung & Kowalski ). Several studies were conducted to evaluate specific mentorship programmes (Matthew‐Maich et al .…”

“…Confidence 5/0 (Taylor 1992, Hill 2004, Matthew-Maich et al 2007, Cannon 2014, Nowell 2014 Decreased anxiety 1/0 (Nowell 2014) Psychological empowerment 1/0 (Chung & Kowalski 2012) Desire to mentor 5/1 (Butler 1990, Torsella 1994, Hill 2004, Nowell 2014, Silao 2015) (Butler 1990) These data are insufficient to suggest causality of mentorship on the identified outcomes. The review revealed an absence of experimental research about mentorship in nursing academia and established the current state of evidence.…”

“…Interpersonal relations Mentor-mentee relationship 5/1 , Hickey et al 2014, Lasater et al 2014, Nowell 2014) (Butler 1990) Mentoring satisfaction 1/1 (Sawatzky & Enns 2009) (Smith et al 2012) Peer relationships 5/0 (Anibas et al 2009, Findley 2012, Kennedy 2012, Lupinacci 2012, Nowell 2014 Conflict resolution 1/0 (Taylor 1992) Academic socialization Socialization 5/1 (Horat 2009, Sawatzky & Enns 2009, Smith et al 2012, Cannon 2014) (Smith et al 2012) Supportive culture 3/0 (Matthew-Maich et al 2007, Lupinacci 2012, Singh et al 2014)…”

“…Learning Personal growth 6/0 (Torsella 1994, Matthew-Maich et al 2007, Turnbull 2010, Nowell, 2012, Cannon 2014, Lasater et al 2014 Self-awareness 2/0 (Hill 2004 Reciprocal learning 3/0 , Lasater et al 2014, Nowell 2014 +/0 denotes the number of studies with positive mentorship outcomes/number of studies with negative or no mentorship outcomes.…”

A Multimodal Orientation Program for Novice Part-Time Clinical Nursing Instructors

“…The mentoring role included providing helpful tips about clinical teaching practice and collegial guidance and support for the new instructors for the duration of the term. The mentor-mentee dyad model as described by Nowell was used [20]. This model ensured that mentees were paired with mentors according to their similar specialties so mentors could answer pertinent questions and provide adequate guidance to the mentees about how to perform their clinical instructor role tasks.…”