Rural Mentorship Matters: Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Nursing Leadership

Rohatinsky, Noelle K.

Monday, 18 November 2013

Noelle K. Rohatinsky, RN, MN, PhD
Linda M. Ferguson, RN, MN, PhD
Sonia Udod, RN, MS, PhD
Louise Racine, RN, BScN, MScN, PhD
College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to identify challenges and issues in supporting mentorships in rural healthcare organizations.

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to identify and implement leadership strategies for supporting mentorships in rural healthcare organizations.

Purpose: This presentation examines the uniqueness of mentoring initiatives and programs in rural settings and describes the opportunities and challenges encountered by rural nursing leadership. The global nursing shortage is intensified in rural communities where nurses face structural and professional challenges distinct from urban settings. Rural environments face increasing complexities such as an aging population, professional and personal boundary blurring, and challenges related to staff recruitment and retention. One way to respond to these difficulties is to create viable and sustainable mentoring initiatives critical for enhancing recruitment and retention. Nurses in leadership positions are instrumental in influencing the culture of nursing units and facilitating the professional, cultural, and social integration of nurses (Racine & Ferguson, 2011). Using authentic leadership styles, managers can assist rural employees in creating positive work environments where mentorship cultures are embedded and employees are recruited and retained.

Methods: Glaserian grounded theory was used to interview rural nurse managers in six health regions in a Canadian province.

Results: Managers acknowledged rural-specific factors that impacted mentoring success. Key leadership activities were identified to support rural mentorship including building relationships with and amongst staff, enhancing socialization within the community, and developing electronic mentorship initiatives. In most rural regions mentoring programs existed, but managers outlined rural-specific strategies to best meet the needs of employees and managers.

Conclusion: As nurse managers continue to examine the work environments for rural nurses, the importance of identifying creative mentorship strategies will need to be emphasized. Managers must embrace these initiatives to increase retention rates and ensure a sustainable workforce. Using innovative approaches can minimize challenges for rural mentorship and allow for opportunities to be realized. The development of authentic leadership styles is one avenue to improve the quality of work environments and influence the retention rates of nurses working in rural settings.

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