The Importance Of Nursing Mentorship

Introduction In the current environment of healthcare, a nursing student who is about to graduate must be ready for the reality of a working life. An underperforming second-year student will be having a 5-weeks placement in a mentor’s work area. Due to the student’s performance in their previous placement, the mentor was notified of their underperformance. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC, 2008), outlines "the role of a mentor as someone who facilitates learning, oversees and evaluates learners in practice setting." Mentorship in the clinical practice is a vital responsibility of an experienced nurse’s — in both formal situations such as mentoring nursing students who are in their clinical placements, or in casual instances like helping

The approach to mentorship is currently different compared to what it was a generation ago. In the past, the relationships merely resembled a teacher-student model where they deemed the “expert” as the mentor. This approach is no longer valid. When considering a mentor, we have to look to someone who is as open to learning as they are teaching. The younger generation tends to bring modern viewpoints to long-standing problems, appreciate the role that technology takes part in solving everyday issues and take a much more vigorous role in their personal development. Chances of long-term success will increase when the student is paired up with a mentor who is open to a reciprocal

Other healthcare workers in the setting would also be more willing and zealous to impart their knowledge and skills if they are able to see the proactiveness in a mentee. Being open to feedback be it positive or negative, is important as it portrays receptiveness to other 's opinions. This could prove to be helpful in bettering and improving an individual 's progress as the necessary corrective measures can be arranged. Failure in learning is not always determined by actions but it could also be due to not listening to advice that was