Examine the significance of the practice enhancement role of the mentor on the facilitation of learning in your current place of employment.
Mentoring can be traced back to the 1500s when, in the Greek myth of Odysseus, Ulysses appointed a wise man and valued friend named Mentor to care for his son Telepaths while he was fighting in the Trojan War Telepaths learned his most significant lessons about life and about becoming an effective ruler from Mentor. From this myth, qualities of a mentor have been described. These include coach, guide, protector, advisor, teacher, and friend (Roman, 2001).
Mentoring has been described as a process that helps an individual adapt to new and expanded professional roles. Mentoring involves a nurturing relationship between a mentor and a menthe. Mentoring occurs when a senior person (the mentor) provides information, advice, and emotional support for a junior person (the menthe) in a relationship lasting over an extended period of time and marked by substantial emotional commitment by both parties. The mentor takes an active role in the professional development of the menthe. “Inherent in the concept of mentoring is a personal, one-to-one, nurturing relationship between the mentor and the menthe” (Roman, 2001).
Mentoring has been an effective strategy in many disciplines, including all the health professions, to develop expertise and leadership within the profession. The traditional concept of mentoring involves a voluntary alliance between an experienced senior professional and a less advanced one, for the dual purposes of career development and the enhancement of the profession. It is impossible to separate mentoring from learning. Mentoring or teaching is an interactive process that promotes learning in an individual. It consists of a conscious, deliberate set of actions that help individuals gain new knowledge, change attitudes, adopt new behaviors, or perform new skills (Potter & Perry, 2004). Mentoring usually highlights interpersonal skills such as being ‘approachable’ and ‘supportive’. This is not to say that mentors do not see skills more directly associated with learning as necessary, just less important (Morton-Copper & Palmer, 2000).
A successful mentor helps the menthe recognize her/his strengths and weaknesses; encourages the menthe to establish goals for further performance improvement; monitors and reviews progress in achieving identified goals; identifies problems that may be affecting progress; generates an action plan for dealing with identified problems; and assists the menthe in realizing his/her full potential.
On August 2004, the Nursing and Midwifery Nursing set out mandatory standards for mentors and mentorship which all mentors are expected to meet. There are eight mandatory standards: communication and working relationships, facilitation of learning, assessment, role modeling, creating an environment for learning, improving practice, a knowledge base, and course development.
The nursing literature shows the consensus seen in other disciplines regarding the concept and value of mentoring. The focus for mentoring in nursing has shifted over the past 3 decades, paralleling the emerging concerns of the profession; current emphasis is on mentoring in research. This growing national and international need generates concern about the necessary resources to effectively mentor researchers (Keefe, 2002).
Mentoring is a special way to transfer knowledge, and it can occur in all the settings in which scientific inquiry is being deliberately pursued. Development of nursing science is the foundation for the growth of the nursing discipline and profession. Knowledge development takes place in the various settings in which nursing is learned and practiced. The processes and products of knowledge-work belong in academic environments for many disciplines but the practice professions both use and create their knowledge beyond traditional scholastic settings. Practice professionals continually merge their knowing with their doing (Keefe, 2002).
Nurses have an ethical responsibility to teach not only their clients but also other health care workers. The nurse has the responsibility to teach the information that other health care workers need. The nurse also often clarifies information provided by physicians and other health care providers and may become the primary source of information needed for adjusting to health problems (Potter & Perry, 2004).
Assessing and adapting educational information and approaches to the needs and preferences of the health care support workers enhances the success of educational efforts. Not all individuals are comfortable in class settings or in support groups. Educational programs that use these methods should have other educational opportunities available to the health care support workers that needed to be educated. Nurses must at all time also remain creative and responsive to other health care workers when providing education.
In this paper, I will discuss the significance of the practice enhancement role of the mentor on the facilitation of learning in my current place of employment – the out-patient department of a local hospital. I was tasked to educate health care support workers in the new skill of suture removal.
How do you teach the skill of removing sutures to health care support workers? The developmental capacity has to be first considered in selecting the teaching method to be used. Since all the health care support workers are already adults and would each exhibit responsibility and discipline, many methods would actually be applicable for them.
As a nurse, I am a primary member of the health care team responsible for ensuring that all the educational needs of clients as well as other health care workers are met. However, there are some cases where the needs are highly complex. Thus, the choice of instructional methods depends on the learning needs, the time available for teaching, the setting, the resources available, and the nurse’s own comfort level with teaching (Potter & Perry, 2004). As I already know the skill of suture removal, I am comfortable that I can teach them this.
When first starting to teach clients and health care workers, it helps to remember that they perceive me – the nurse – as an expert. However, this does not mean that the nurse must have all the answers. This is of course impossible since there are things that are just simply out of our control. Being considered as an expert simply means that other health care support workers and clients expect that I as the nurse keep them appropriately informed. The nurse can be effective by keeping the teaching plan simple and focused on client’s needs (Potter & Perry, 2004).
Nurses may choose to teach health care support workers and clients in groups because of the advantages associated with group teaching. Groups are an economical way to teach a number of individuals at one time, and they would also be able to interact with each other and learn from the experiences of others. Groups can also foster the development of positive attitudes that help health care support workers and clients meet learning objectives. This is what I have reflected by using the group teaching technique in educating the health care support workers. They can learn from what I teach them but they can also learn more from each other.
Group instruction often involves both lecture and discussion. Lectures are highly structured and are efficient in helping groups of health care support workers and clients learn standard content about a subject. A lecture does not ensure that learners are actively thinking about the material presented; thus discussion and practice sessions are essential. After a lecture, learners need the opportunity to share ideas and seek clarification. Group discussions allow health care support workers to learn from each other as they review common experiences. A productive group discussion helps the participants solve problems and arrive at solutions toward improving each health care support worker’s improvement.
To be an effective group leader, a nurse must be able to guide participation. Acknowledging a look of interest, asking questions, and summarizing key issues foster group involvement (Potter & Perry, 2004).
Demonstrations are also useful methods for teaching psychomotor skills such as preparation of a syringe, bathing an infant and in my particular case – the removal of a suture. Of course, I just cannot teach them by lecture without letting them see how it is really performed. The health care support workers are able to observe the skill of removing sutures before practicing it.
Demonstrations are most effective when learners first observe the mentor and then during a return demonstration have the chance to practice the skill. Nurses usually use demonstrations for teaching motor skills; however motor skills are not learned separately from attitudes and factual knowledge. A demonstration should be combined with discussion to clarify concepts and feelings. This is what I had in mind when I employed demonstration and discussion within the group of health care support workers. An effective demonstration requires advanced planning:
As a nurse, it is important to demonstrate a skill in the same order in which the health care support workers will perform it. The demonstration involves the following:
- Performing each step slowly and accurately
- Encouraging the health care support workers to ask questions so that each step is understood
- Explaining the rationale for each step
- Allowing the health care support workers to observe each step
- Avoiding a hurried approach
- Allowing each health care support worker to handle equipment and practice the skill under supervision
The health care support worker would then demonstrate the procedure to ensure that learning has occurred. It is important that the independent demonstration should occur under the same conditions that will be experienced for real by the health care support workers in the place where the skill is to be performed.
Teaching during routine care is actually efficient and cost-effective. Teaching is done more effectively whole delivering the skill. This becomes easier as confidence increases in one’s own clinical skills. For example, while actually performing suture removal on a patient, I can provide explanation on what is being done. But the catch of this is that the patient may not appreciate being made an example to a group of health care support workers for their education and learning.
As a mentor, it is my role to provide career guidance, advice and leadership to beginning nurses and health care support workers who often find the transition to an actual hospital environment to be challenging and stressful. In being a mentor, a love for the profession is important, an ability to remain calm during stressful situations is also important as well. As mentors, we are most interested in helping new nurses and health care support workers give their best at what matters most – patient care.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council along with the Department of Health released several publications regarding Mentoring. Mentors and teachers are vital to the preparation of the next generation practitioners. The publication “Preparation of Mentors and Mentors: A New Framework of Guidance” is intended to provide practical, contemporary guidance for the development of mentor and teacher preparation programs. The term mentor is used to denote the role of the nurse, midwife or health visitor who facilitates learning and supervises and assesses students in the practice setting. Mentors will require robust preparation for their role. Mentor preparation equips appropriately qualified and experienced practitioners to assume responsibility for the student’s learning in the practice setting, the quality of that learning, and the assessment of competencies to demonstrate the extent to which learning outcomes have been met. Mentors possess a repertoire of skills in their discipline or area of practice.
According to the Department of Health, The opportunity for all staff to learn and develop is a crucial factor in achieving new ways of patient-Centred working.
Questioning one’s knowing and understanding in practice is an integral aspect of reflection. By doing so reflection offers a focus for caring and to become more self aware of the contradictions that exist between how they would like to practice and what they actually do. Each health care support worker is also encouraged to reflect on the new learning.
As the old adage says – Practice makes perfect. Allowing the health workers to practice what has been taught to them will make them learn it more and apply it to future practice. Practice enhancement helps health care professionals prepare for the future and it could jump start quality improvement efforts. It could in the long run imp prove the quality of medical care delivered by the health care workers.
While on practice, the health care worker could actually gauge which areas he or she is good at and which areas he or she needs more improvement. This is better since the health care worker himself/herself is aware of his or her capabilities. Each learning session has to be ended on a positive note, if possible. It is important to realize that there are no failures in a mentorship. Both the mentor and the menthe will learn as much from mistakes as from the successes.
While on group discussion, it is important to remind the health care support workers that this group absorbs a range of activity that directly impact on health care practice. They should know that this is a very important skill to be learned and this could directly impact the patient.
To be an effective educator, the nurse must do more than just pass on facts. An effective nurse carefully determines what health care workers need to know and find time when they are ready to learn. When nurses value the education of health care workers under him or her and are able to implement it, then the health care support workers will be better prepared to assume health care responsibilities. Evaluating the positive impact of health care support workers’ education on client outcomes is an important nursing issue (Potter and Perry, 2004).
My role as a mentor is to let the learners practice what they have learned, that way they can enhance and make room for improvement where it is needed. Both myself as the mentor and the health care support workers – the individuals being mentored, benefit from this career-enhancing association of teaching them the skill of suture removal. I had the opportunity to develop a sense of competence and self-worth in the managerial role, as well as to develop skills that may profit the health care support worker’s advancement in the health care organization. I made myself their role model, serving as their object of respect and admiration.
Along with the opportunity to receive recognition and respect from peers for making a contribution to the development of a young talent, internal satisfaction is a potential by-product for the mentor. In a mentoring relationship, mantes (the health care support workers) and mentors (me) both win, resulting in long-term benefits not only for the local hospital but for society at large.
To fully achieve learning on the part of the health care support workers regarding the learning of suture removal, the effort of teaching them should be wholly supported also by the local hospital. The local hospital did plan for and supported the provision of education activities for health care support workers. The hospital identified and provided the resources necessary for the achievement of the educational objectives.
The health care support worker’s education process is coordinated among appropriate staff or disciplines who provided care or services. Education is important so that the patients will also be informed and assured that each health care professional – from the physicians to the nurses down to the health care support workers – is educated about how to safely and effectively use medical equipments and supplies and perform medical skills, as appropriate. This way, the patient wouldn’t be worried of trusting their care in the hands of the health care professionals – even the health care support workers.
The success of teaching the health care support workers the skill of removing a suture requires that I, as the mentor, assess all factors influencing relevant content, the ability of each individual health care support worker to learn, and the resources available for instruction. Constructive feedback is given so as to promote further learning on the part of the health care support workers.
In all these, it is important to consider that teamwork leads to success. Each and every health care support worker has to share and collaborate in order to truly learn. Of course, I as the mentor also play a bigger part in the teamwork process. As part of the team, I have the ability to motivate and guide them for further advancement and learning.
As a mentor, it is my role to assist the health care support workers to grow and learn through the transference of expertise in the new skill of suture removal. This is not easy and it entails patience on my part and on the part of the health care support workers. I served as an observer, commentator, and advocate-as influential presence. From me, the health care support workers as mantes receive specific guidance about the path ahead as well as direct feedback about how they are currently performing on their suture removal skills.
For mantes truly to benefit from the help offered by a mentoring relationship, they need mentor participation that is based on mutual trust; accurate and reliable information; realistic exploration of their goals, decisions, and options; challenges to their ideas, beliefs, and actions; holistic support.
As a nurse, I have a central role in health care changes. Increasingly, there is a trend for nurses to perform skills that were once handled by the physicians. This is a shift in nursing roles and this includes the responsibility of teaching other health care workers the needed skills in the health care organization.
To have a positive impact on recruitment and retention, nursing must strengthen mentor connections at all levels and develop an everyday mindset of the mentoring culture. Ideally, all nurses evolve as mentors and mantes, using creative innovations to develop as leaders.
Mentors give their time, energy, and material support to teach, guide, assist, counsel and inspire other health care workers. They serve as an experienced guide, adviser, or advocate and assume responsibility for promoting the growth and professional advancement of a less experienced individual. It is a nurturing relationship – having to teach a less experienced individual with something that you know. Having a mentor is recognized as important for career development. Mentoring is also a two way learning opportunity wherein it is not only the mantes who will learn but also I as the mentor will learn from them.
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