Mentorship Program Dissertations Examples

The Garden State Nurse Mentorship Program is a voluntary program bridging mentors and mentees for a six-month formal mentoring relationship. The overarching goal is to engender a mentoring and collegial culture in the workplace that translates to enhanced staff development, job satisfaction, recruitment, and retention. The following are the program objectives:
1) Build encouraging and supportive relationships between new and established nurses
2) Provide guidance to new nurses in their personal and professional growth
3) Establish collegial relationships among the nursing staff
4) Promote the integration of theory into the correctional nursing practice
5) Enable the communication of learning opportunities to and feedback from new nurses
6) Facilitate the socialization of new nurses into the organization.
The planning, implementation, and evaluation as well as on-going decision making in regards to program components, policies, activities, and management will be the responsibility of a team composed of the director of nursing, nurse educator, and the coordinator. The task of the coordinator is to oversee day-to-day program activities while the nurse educator is in charge of the mentor education and training component including curriculum development and revision, creation of materials and other learning resources, documentation of mentor participation, and implementation and evaluation of learning activities. On the other hand, the role of the director of nursing is to provide management support by addressing the budgetary and workload concerns of mentors and those in program administration.

Program Components

Program components include mentor criteria and selection, mentorship education and training, mentor and mentee matching, mentoring plan, mentoring meeting agenda, resolving mentor-mentee conflict, requesting for discontinuation of the mentor-mentee relationship, and evaluating the mentoring relationship.

Mentor Criteria and Selection

Senior staff nurses who would like to become mentors will undergo self-assessment to evaluate their ability to fulfill expectations that include supporting the vision, mission, philosophy, objectives, and values of the Garden State Correctional Facility, serving as effective role model to peers, acting as a resource person for personal and professional development, exhibiting clinical competency, and giving constructive feedback. A potential mentor must also demonstrate positive interaction and communication with others, and professionalism as well. These qualities are consistent with what Hawkins and Fontenot (2010) and Race and Skees (2010) found in their review of the literature. The mentor must be willing to engage in life-long learning in teaching, coaching, communication, goal setting, conflict management, and giving feedback which are the major tasks of a mentor.
However, it is not expected that mentors will demonstrate all of the aforementioned abilities as the self-assessment tool is meant to ascertain strengths and weaknesses. The coordinator and the potential mentor will discuss the results of the self-assessment, and the latter will decide if he or she still wants to become a mentor. Subsequently, he or she will be asked to fill out and submit an application form (see Appendix). For purposes of optimum mentor-mentee matching, the application form will elicit information on the mentor’s personal and professional background, hobbies and interests, mentee preferences, and amount of time he or she can commit to mentoring. It is also worthwhile to note that the results of the self-assessment tool will be employed by the nurse educator as a learning needs assessment and will guide the development of an appropriate curriculum as well as the choice of resources that will be put together and made available to mentors.

Mentorship Education and Training

All mentors will undergo 4-day mentorship education and training. It is a classroom-based activity utilizing principles of adult learning as described by Draganov et al. (2012). In the introduction, the learning activity will be situated within the context of the program’s goals and objectives. Besides lecture-type activities, the sharing of prior mentor or mentee experiences will be encouraged, and reflection will be done to draw insights on what works and what does not. The activity will also include skills training on goal-setting, teaching, and coaching. Role playing of communication, giving feedback, and conflict resolution will be employed as a learning strategy. The nurse educator will also search for helpful literature which will be reproduced and given to mentors as resources. Updates on best practices in mentorship will be provided by the nurse educator on a regular basis.

Mentor and Mentee Matching

Mentees will be asked to submit an application form (see Appendix) expressing the desire to receive mentorship in accordance with the voluntary nature of the program. The form will elicit the same information as the mentor application form. Consequently, the program administration team will search for potential matches from the pool of mentors and will discuss before making a final decision who will be assigned to the mentee. Similarities in background, interests, and individual preferences will be the primary bases for matching.

Program Information Dissemination

Details of the Garden State Nurse Mentorship Program will be disseminated to the staff and new nurses upon hire through leaflet distribution and flyers posted on the bulletin boards. E-mails will further be sent to the staff. The coordinator will serve as the contact person for those who would like to request for more information.

Mentoring Plan

The mentee shall complete the mentee self-assessment tool to determine his or her learning needs that will serve as basis for teaching, coaching, role modeling, support, and guidance, the primary roles of a mentor (Anderson, 2011; Metcalfe, 2010). However, the mentee can add other learning needs that may not be covered by the tool after discussing with the mentor. Because mentorship is structured and to facilitate program evaluation, the mentor and mentee will develop a written plan for mentorship that includes the goals, outcomes, expectations of both parties, and the methods and frequency of communication. Both parties will sign the plan, date it, indicate the number or minutes or hours spent collaborating, and submit a copy to the coordinator. The plan can be revised by both parties as necessary. The planning tool adapted from the American Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) (2012) mentor guide (see Appendix) will be provided to the mentor-mentee dyad.

Mentoring Meeting Agenda

The mentoring relationship is essentially driven by the mentee. To empower the mentee and ensure that mentorship fulfills his or her needs, the mentoring meeting agenda tool (see Appendix), again adapted from the AMSN (2012) guide, will be made available to mentees. The tool facilitates communication with the mentor of the goals and issues or topics for discussion for each scheduled meeting. The tool also ensures documentation of the accomplishments for each meeting, the schedule and initial goals for the subsequent meeting, feedback from the mentee, and the length of time spent for the meeting. Copies of mentoring meeting agendas will be submitted to the coordinator for evaluation purposes.

Mentor-Mentee Conflict Resolution

The mentor and mentee will strive to resolve any conflict between them through open communication, constructive criticism, and a collaborative approach. However, a third party may be requested if necessary and may be the coordinator or another mentor with experience in conflict resolution. The resolution of conflict or the lack thereof despite best efforts will be documented. In cases of the latter, the mentee can opt out of the relationship without any consequences. The program administration team may then assign a new mentor if the mentee still wants to be mentored. The coordinator will assist the previous mentor in self-reflection to generate meaning and learning out of the negative experience.

Requesting for Discontinuation of Mentor-Mentee Relationship

Mentees who wish to opt out may fill out a form indicating this decision as well as a request for a new mentor if desired. The form will be submitted to the coordinator. For existing mentor-mentee dyads where termination of the relationship is requested by either party for reasons not related to compatibility, e.g. one party will be moving to another state before the end of the mentorship cycle, the coordinator will hold a meeting with the mentor and mentee to discuss the reason for the termination and alternatives for the mentee.

Evaluating the Mentoring Relationship

At the close of the 6-month mentorship, the mentor and mentee will be asked to answer a survey questionnaire inquiring into the positive and negative aspects of the relationship, whether goals and learning needs were met, what else can be done to improve the program, and other information as feedback. The results of the evaluation will be presented to the mentors during an occasion where appreciation and recognition will be formally conveyed to them for their hard work.

References

American Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (2012). AMSN mentoring program mentor guide. Retrieved from https://www.amsn.org/sites/default/files/documents/professional- development/mentoring/AMSN-Mentoring-Mentor-Guide.pdf
Anderson, L. (2011). A learning resource for developing effective mentorship in practice. Nursing Standard, 25(1), 48-56. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21922743
Draganov, P.B., de Carvalho Andrade, A., Neves, V.R., & Sanna, M.C. (2013). Andragogy in nursing: A literature review. Investigacion y Educacion en Enfermeria, 31(1), 86- 94. Retrieved from http://aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co/revistas/index.php/iee/article/view/10782
Hawkins, J.W., & Fontenot, H.B. (2010). Mentorship: The heart and soul of health care leadership. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 2, 31-34. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/JHL.S7863.
Metcalfe, S.E. (2010). Educational innovation: Collaborative mentoring for future nursing leaders. Creative Nursing, 16(4), 167-170. doi: 10.1891/1078-4535.16.4.167.
Race, T. K., & Skees, J. (2010). Changing tides: Improving outcomes through mentorship on all levels of nursing. Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 33(2), 163-174. doi: 10.1097/CNQ.0b013e3181d91475.
Mentor Application Form
Mentee Application Form
Mentoring Program Plan
Mentoring Meeting Agenda