After completing the nursing program and acquiring an RN license, a novice nurse will be working on the floor and helping keep patients healthy and safe. However, as all experienced nurses know, it’s easy for first-time nurses to feel overwhelmed by the high-stress and high-demand nature of the profession. This is where nurse mentorship comes in. Not only can mentoring new nurses help new nurses transition from the classroom to the hospital floor, but it can also build supported and resilient nurses.
What is nurse mentoring?
The American Nurses Association of Massachusetts defines mentoring as “a broad caring role that encompasses formal or informal supporting, guiding, coaching, teaching, role modeling, counseling, advocating, networking, and sharing.” Mentoring, which is a one-to-one relationship between a mentor (an experienced nurse) and a mentee (a novice nurse) that spans months or years, enables learning new skills, coping with change, and promoting enhanced patient care outcomes.
The benefits of mentoring nurses
· Lowers turnover rates
New nurses experience various challenges that contribute to them leaving the profession early in their careers. The turnover rate for new nurses is a staggering 30% in the first year of working on the floor.
When novice nurses receive mentorship from more experienced nurses, they’ll receive the support and guidance they need to survive their first year as nurses and thrive in the years to come. Studies show that new nurses who receive mentorship gain more organizational and professional benefits compared to their peers who don’t.
· Reduces errors
Research points to how new nurses with mentors can help mitigate the risk of medication errors among nursing students, and the same is true for new nurses. With medication errors negatively impacting the lives of at least 1.5 million people and costing hospitals US$3.5 billion yearly, novice nurses must get guidance on how to properly administer medication: Medication should be given at the right time, with the right dose, through the right route, and to the right patient.
· Improves patient outcomes
Mentoring nurses benefit the mentee, the mentor, and most importantly, the patients. New nurses who receive proper mentoring and coaching can improve their communication skills, develop their analytical and critical thinking skills, and enhance their clinical judgment — all these contribute to a better patient care experience.
Tips on mentoring new nurses
· Be encouraging and empathetic
Remember your first day on the floor as a new nurse and the many complex feelings you felt that day? That’s how your mentees are feeling, too. It’s important to let them feel supported and help build their confidence by being encouraging and empathetic. Set clear goals, communicate expectations, and share positive feedback and recognition.
It’s also important to let new nurses know that it can take time before they feel fully accustomed to work routines, which can change depending on the unit. While novice nurses are in the process of developing the skills necessary to be great at what they do, they must give themselves the grace and compassion necessary to move forward. At the beginning of their nursing careers, they won’t be able to do everything every day, but what’s important is that they constantly do their best each day.
· Don’t be afraid to share everything you know
Sharing what you know — from the best practices you’ve developed and stumbled upon through the years, the skills you’ve picked up, the coping mechanisms that you found effective, and the mistakes you’ve learned the hard way — will improve your mentee’s learning and nursing experience.
· Allow new nurses to develop processes and ways that work for them
As a mentor, your role is to provide suggestions, ideas, tools, and resources to your mentees. While it’s tempting to give ready answers to your mentee’s questions or resolve their challenges, you should allow them to solve their problems on their own. Ask them what they think they should do as this fosters critical thinking and builds confidence. Let them develop methods and processes that would work for them, their personalities, and their working styles.
