The value of Having a Mentor
Nursing is a professional area of practice which deals with provision of health services to patients in a hospital setting. It is considered as a helping profession because nurses usually empathize with patients during treatment. By being empathetic, the nurses imagine themselves in the situation of the patients and as a result, they are able to effectively understand what the patients go through and offer the necessary support.
The training of nurses is considered as one of the most stressful experiences for the learners. The reason is that it involves attending to patients with various illnesses, chronic conditions, and victims of fatal accidents. The learners are also faced with horrible experiences, which if not properly managed may lead to burnout or in some extreme cases; the experiences may scare the learners from the nursing profession.
As a result, there is need for the learners to identify a clinical expert to walk with them hand in hand in their learning journey. The expert provides guidance and acts as a role model to the learners. Through their interaction with the mentor, the learners become motivated to learn new experiences. The learners also get the courage to overcome the feelings of burnout or the temptations to quit the profession and as a result, they aspire to achieve their learning objectives using the expert as an example (Kinnell & Hughes, 2010).
Selecting a Mentor
Before learners embark on the process of selecting a mentor, they should first understand the characteristics of a good mentor. A good mentor should be able to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the learners and help them deal with their weaknesses. The mentor should also be conversant with the topic and the emerging issues related to the topic. This kind of understanding is important because it enables the mentor to guide the learners in an appropriate way. The mentor should also be able to enhance the ability of the learners to make wise decisions and empower them with crucial resources for reference purposes (Grossman, 2013).
After understanding these characteristics, the leaners should look for a person whom they personally admire. The reason is that mentorship should be guided by the principles of friendship, understanding, and interest to help each other to achieve certain objectives. Once these requirements are fulfilled, the learners should proceed to establishing rapport with the mentor by discussing their learning objectives. The sharing enables the mentor to contextualize the learners’ objectives so as to know how best to help them (Grossman, 2013).
Working with a Mentor
After identifying the mentor and establishing rapport, the learners should have regular meetings with the mentor. Before any practical activity or lesson, the leaners should meet with the mentor to discuss the challenges which may be encountered and how to deal with the challenges. Such meetings enable the learners to be psychologically prepared to handle any stress which may come as a result of the practical lessons. The learners and the mentor should also have review meetings on regular basis to discus the overall achievement of the leaners and whether the leaners are still on course of achieving their objectives.
The leaners should be free to consult the mentor at any time they are faced with challenges and ensure that they observe dignity and respect when dealing with the mentor to avoid mistrust. Failure to interact with the mentor in a dignified and respectful manner may compromise the quality of mentorship and prevent the leaners from achieving their objectives. Learners should also respect the opinions of the mentor and give feedback to the mentor on regular basis. Above all, learners should not forget to always thank the mentor for the mentorship (Grossman, 2013).
References
Grossman, S. (2013). Mentoring in nursing: a dynamic and collaborative process. New York, NY: Springer.
Kinnell, D., & Hughes, P. (2010). Mentoring nursing and healthcare students. Los Angeles: SAGE.