Reflection On Mentorship

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INTRODUCTION During this reflective essay I will discuss my role, responsibility and accountability as the student’s mentor. Hamill (1999) considers the use of first person to be suitable when writing on personal reflection. In accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (2015) guidelines relating to confidentiality, the mentored students will be named Sam and Jane. The essay will also reflect on approaches that I have used to support and facilitate the students to achieve specified learning outcomes. According to Lanser (2000) the crucial goal of mentorship is for an individual to contribute to the professional development of another. A mentor should offer ongoing support and development opportunities to the student offering guidance, …show more content…

Prior to the students start date it is important that they are contacted and informed of location, uniform, start time and name of allocated mentor. Fortunately, my students both contacted me a day before their placement began. I took this opportunity to introduce myself and went through a little of what to expect in a medical setting. Baumeister and Leary (1995) suggest that if students feel accepted, secure, valued and respected it motivates their capacity to learn and instils confidence. I feel that this initial contact took some of that first day anxiety away. The effect of the mentor on the student begins at first contact and forms the foundation upon which the mentor/student relationship will be created (Boyle and James, …show more content…

I think it was important to assess my personal strengths and weaknesses as to gain confidence in my abilities as a nursing student mentor. There were instances when I was unable to perform my mentor duties as there were instances of inadequate time to fulfil this role along with my ward duties. It was hard to foresee how the day may go as one never knows what will occur. Gainsbury (2010) states that while mentors are aware of the value of mentoring students they are challenged as to how to commit fully to the role within the constant demands of their job. To lessen this as much as possible I put my leadership and managerial skills into practice so that opportunities and experiences were planned to an extent promoting a learning environment (Goorapah,