Background: It is known that mentoring assists people in being better than what they would be solely by themselves. It is also evident that the traditional dyad of mentor and mentee has evolved to a more collaborative network of individuals with a focus on team effort. The term, peering, describes the current perception of the profession’s mentoring culture that will allow each nurse an opportunity to collaborate and partner in peer networks. Skills generated from being in a mentoring relationship are important to be successful providers of health care.

Purpose: The purpose was to describe nurse leaders’ and senior baccalaureate student’s perceptions of ideal mentoring relationships. A goal of the project was to develop a contemporary definition of mentoring in nursing.

Methodology: 49 students and 38 mentors participated in evaluating a leadership rotation where students shadowed a mentor. An open ended questionnaire asked each participant their perception of mentoring.

Findings: Leaders and students agreed 90% of the time that certain behaviors were characteristic of positive mentoring. Additionally, both groups felt mentees could mentor the mentors in some situations, peer mentoring was common, mentoring provided career advancement, the relationship fostered character development, and that mentoring did not include a grade. Variables including the organizational culture, the leadership style of the mentor, and the agency’s practice model were identified as impacting just how empowered the mentee can be.

Conclusions: Nurses and senior students about to graduate have similar perceptions of what mentoring should include. The definition evolving from this work is: mentoring in nursing encompasses a guided and not graded experience whether it be formally or informally assigned over a mutually agreed upon period of time that empowers the mentor and mentee to develop personally and professionally within the auspices of a caring, collaborative, culturally competent, and respectful environment.