There are a multitude of approaches to enhancing nursing practice especially through the lens of evidence-based practice, quality improvement, and nursing research. From the perspective of a Nursing Professional Development Specialist who supports the onboarding and ongoing professional development of nurses, enhancing our practice frequently focuses on retention initiatives to build strength and experience within our healthcare teams. Enhancing our practice means establishing strong, collaborative, and respectful relationships with our peers and uplifting them through partnership. Peer mentorship programs, regardless of role, tenure, location, or experience level, help to ensure that we are advancing each other as well as the science behind our practice.
Throughout the literature, there are numerous examples and insights as to how mentorship programs can benefit participants, both mentors and mentees alike. Sheppard-Law et al. (2018), discuss a novice clinical nurse educator mentorship program in which participants, “transformed their clinical practice through an increase in knowledge, skills, and understanding of evidence-based practice. Such skills included participants being able to critique the literature and to feel confident to implement change in their clinical setting” (p. 212). Utilizing collaborative, reciprocal frameworks to structure mentorship programs can increase the confidence of both parties and support the mutual professional development of mentors and mentees through the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and clinical experiences (Jacobson & Sherrod, 2012). When combined with the advances of evidence and research, empowering others via mentorship can do wonders to ensure that best practices are implemented consistently and confidently at the bedside.
It is impossible to sustain, enhance, and advance the practice of nursing if retention is not prioritized, permitting the development of skills, knowledge, and confidence in members of the workforce. This transcends the practice setting and applies to academia as well. Summers (2017) reviews the importance of mentorship regarding retention as applicable to nursing faculty: “…programs with formal mentor support, clear direction about role expectation, and the opportunity to observe effective teaching with ongoing feedback on performance for new educators, are essential if academic organizations want to retain competent and effective nursing faculty” (p. 265). If mentorship programs are not active to support retention, they absolutely should be considered as these partnerships have the potential to create profound change, improve nurse satisfaction, and ultimately lead to a more confident, competent, and content workforce.
“Mentorship can create an environment for continuous improvement, self-discovery, attainable goals, improved job and career satisfaction, and enhanced leadership skills” (Robertson & Ferguson, 2024, p. 28). The enhancement of leadership skills regardless of position title, encouragement and collaboration gained from strengthening peer relationships, and personal and professional development acquired from mentorship programming all support nursing retention and role satisfaction. Implementing programs that focus on retention, such as peer mentorship, can strengthen the application and sustainability of research-driven initiatives and EBP, resulting in improved learning and working environments, positive patient outcomes, and a more engaged workforce. The establishment of peer mentor programs regardless of role or setting has the power to enhance our practice and advance our peers, our profession, and the power of nursing.
References
Jacobson, S. L., & Sherrod, D. R. (2012). Transformational Mentorship Models for Nurse Educators. Nursing Science Quarterly, 25(3), 279–284. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894318412447565
Robertson, D., & Ferguson, K. (2024). Mentorship matters. American Nurse Journal, 19(1), 28–29. https://doi.org/10.51256/anj012428
Sheppard-Law, S., Curtis, S., Bancroft, J., Smith, W., & Fernandez, R. (2018). Novice clinical nurse educator’s experience of a self-directed learning, education and mentoring program: a qualitative study. Contemporary Nurse, 54(2), 208–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/10376178.2018.1482222
Summers, J. A. (2017). Developing competencies in the novice nurse educator: An integrative review. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 12(4), 263–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2017.05.001
