Mentoring in a Nurse Anesthesia Program: Cultivating Wellness and Developing Leaders

Nurse anesthetists are considered one of the most difficult and demanding specialties for Advance Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), therefore, nurse anesthesia education and program design is typically rigorous, time consuming and stressful. The nurse anesthesia program at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, requires students to complete 85 credits for their post baccalaureate Nurse Anesthesia/Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, including didactic and clinical courses, with a minimum of 2,500 clinical hours to be completed in order to graduate. This translates to 1-2 days of didactic classes and 3-4 days of 10-12 hours of clinical practicum, with an average of 4-6 hours of studying per day in preparation for class and clinical training. This stressful and grueling schedule provides little time for social interaction, wellness preparation, professional organization involvement and leadership development. Literature states that student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) experience stress due to the stressors of school and the emotional experience of being no longer the expert in the clinical setting; rather they are the novice in a new situation. Studies have shown that stressors SRNAs face are often handled through interaction and support from others.  

The development and implementation of a student-driven formal mentorship program is an attempt to increase social interaction between different levels (cohorts) of student registered nurse anesthetists (SRNAs) within the program, help alleviate stress by providing necessary emotional and mental support for wellness among SRNAs, and to instill the philosophy of mentoring early in the student’s career which may promote subsequent professional organizational involvement and peer-driven leadership development. The student-driven formal mentorship program receives unconditional support by both program director and assistant program director. Since the implementation of the mentorship program, there has been increased social interaction between the two cohorts (mentors and mentees) and individuals who have shown professional leadership skills are receiving additional and specialized mentorship to continue to develop and maintain the mentorship program for future incoming cohorts. 

References:

Chipas A, McKenna D. Stress and burnout in anesthesia. AANA Journal. 2011; 79(2):122-128.

Vinales, J. (2015). The mentor as a role model and the importance of belongingness. British Journal of Nursing, 24(10), 532-35.