Mentorship: The Ultimate Form of Leadership

A true leader understands the importance of supporting others to be the best they can be and to achieve their professional goals. Nursing leadership and mentorship go hand-in-hand if the nurse leader believes in the importance of lifting up new and/or established leaders so they may achieve their potential.  Some experienced nurse clinicians and academicians consider becoming mentors, yet many do not take on this role.  What might be the reasons for this? As the nurse leader transitions to the mentor role there are many things to consider including: what the role entails, how to be effective and how to successfully support the rising nurse.

For both the mentor and mentee there are innumerable opportunities to hone one’s personal and professional skills and goals. These can lead to positive outcomes for the mentee, as seen in the literature, but are not limited to: a smooth transition from a nursing student to becoming an RN (Kaihlanen, Lakanmaa & Salimen, 2013); increased desire to move into managerial roles (Cziraki, Mckey, Peachey, Baxter & Flaherty, 2014; Wong, et. al., 2013 ); and a decrease in lateral violence in the nursing workplace (Frederick, 2014). Further, there are benefits for the mentor that include: increased satisfaction in academia (Myler, Buch, Hagerty, Ferrari & Murphy, 2014); breaking down boundaries (Allan, Smith & Lorentzon, 2007); knowing that mentoring strengthens the nursing profession and workforce in the United States (Frederick, 2014) and globally (Krause-Parello, Sarcone, Samms & Boyd, 2013); and mentor growth in the professional and scholarly realms. With all of this said, why then aren’t more nurses offering to be mentors as a path to a meaningful career for themselves and others?

This presentation will examine the proposed questions about the mentor and how a nurse learns, implements, and role models that role. Discussion will include how a mentor is chosen by a mentee, and the differences between the two roles. Specific examples of nurse mentor cases will be presented and discussed.

References

Allan, Smith & Lorentzon, 2007). Leadership for learning: A literature study of leadership for learnng in clinical practice. Journal of Nursing Management 16, 545-555.

Cziraki, K., Mckey, C., Peachey,G., Baxter, P. & Flaherty, B. (2014). Factors that facilitate registered nurses in their first-line nurse manager role. Journal of Nursing Management22, 1005-1014.

Frederick, D. (2014). Bullying, mentoring and patient care. AORN Journal 99(5), 587- 593.

Kaihlanen, A-M., Lakanmaa, R-L. & Salimen, L. (2013). The transition from nursing student to registered nurse: The mentor's possiboilities to act as a supporter. Nurse Education in Practice 13, 418-422.

Krause-Parello, C.A., Sarcone, A., Samms, K. & Boyd, Z.N.(2013). Developing a center for nursing research: An influence on nursing education and research through mentorship. Nurse Education in Practice 13, 106-112.

Myler, Buch, Hagerty, Ferrari & Murphy, 2014). Mentor satisfaction using a new model of clinical education.Nursing Education Perspectives 35 (6), 367-371.

Wong,C.A., Spence Laschinger, H.K., Macdonald-Rencz, S., Burkoski, V., Cummings, G., D'Amour, D., Grinspun, D., Gurnham, M-E., Huckstep, S., Leiter, M., Perkin, K., Macphee, M., Matthews, S., O'Brien-Pallas, L., Ritchie, J., Ruffulo, M., Vincent, L., Wilk, P., Almost, J., Purdy, N., Daniels, F. & Grau, A. (2013). Part2: Nurses' career aspirations to management roles: Qualitative findings from a national study of Canadian nurses. Journal of Nursing Management 21, 231-241.