There is a huge amount of value placed on effective mentorship in clinical practice, nursing students spend 50% of their course in clinical practice it is therefore essential that the experiences they have support their ongoing development and guide them to achieving their clinical competencies as required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2010). As a profession, nurses and midwives accept the responsibility for assuring the competence of its workforce to protect public safety, and the mentor plays a central role as a gatekeeper in this process. Students on health profession courses find the support invaluable when effective. It is also important we as academics and student nurses and midwives understand what the term mentor actually means to ensure effectiveness is monitored and expectations are met.

NMC (2008) page 19 define a mentor as:

“A mentor is a registrant who has met the outcomes (of a mentor preparation course) and who facilitates learning and supervises and assesses students in a practice setting”

The NMC (2008) also established a framework to support learning and assessment in clinical practice that describes the knowledge and skills needed to apply in practice this identifies eight domains mentors use to provide effective mentorship. In order to be effective a mentor needs to be able to facilitate pre-registration students’ learning whilst encouraging students to critically reflect on their learning experiences. By supervising, supporting and guiding students in practice mentors are able to provide constructive feedback and manage the failing student by implement approved assessment procedures through summative assessment. This is particularly important as students on NMC approved pre-registration nursing education programmes, leading to registration on the nurses’ part of the register, must be supported and assessed by mentors.

This you tube clip was created for our first mentor conference and demonstrates what our students perceive as effective mentorship.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B5TXiiF0ZU

Mentors work closely with clinical placement facilitators, practice educators and academics in order to facilitate students transition from one learning environment to another and ensure they achieve their learning outcomes whilst being accountable for confirming competencies as set out by the NMC (2010) standards. These aim to develop a student’s professional and inter-professional working relationship with members of the multi -disciplinary team. The Shape of Caring report (2015) also emphasises the importance of inter-professional working in the delivery of safe and effective care. This may require a shift from a uni-professional to a multi-professional approach to mentorship.

Mentorship is a vital part of pre-registration nurse and midwifery training, as it helps to establish a positive environment for learning and that nurturing from mentors encourages personal and professional development.

“Good mentorship is important because it instils confidence in the student.”

The importance of ensuring that students are exposed to safe and effective practice leads to good quality patient care being delivered by the next generation of nurses.

Helen Ashwood, Adult Nursing Course Lead, School of Health and Social Care, h.ashwood@staffs.ac.uk