Nurses have no excuse for not mentoring students. It is an expectation inscribed in the NMC Code of Conduct. Mentoring socialises students into “the community of nursing” and is an essential way to encourage the nurses of the future to think critically about what they do so then can attempt to change the lot that so many contemporary nurses complain about.
Nurses will say they are too busy to bother with students, deluged with IT and paperwork; they will say they simply haven’t got the time, and that students get under their feet. One nurse privately revealed to me that students get in the way of doing ‘real’ nursing! Students themselves say that they do not have enough clinical placements; and it is true that hospitals and units are being closed down and are insufficiently staffed, and that nurses are losing their jobs so that there are fewer mentors available. In the modern NHS it is tough for everybody (yes, even managers – except many of them seem to get to retire early on big pensions).
There is a plethora of government and NMC documents about nurse mentorship of students; and it is a knack to find the ones that really will change the way a mentor looks at their role. The shocking conclusions of Kathleen Duffy’s 2004 study entitled Failing Students made me realise that as a mentor I am subject to the same pressures felt and beliefs held by all nurses when i assess students’ suitability for registration.
Similarly Burke and Saldhana’s 2005 paper, NMC Consultation on a Standard to support learning and assessment in practice caused me to reflect upon what I was and was not doing with students that I could be and that would be beneficial for them.
Insights that I gained from other research are: using examples from my own student experiences in order to help the student relate to their own experiences, being welcoming on the first day, planning review meetings in advance and making clear from the start what the roles of mentor and student are. In fact there is so much research out there that a nurse mentor has no excuse for pleading ignorance. I was fortunate in that I acquired this knowledge through a mentorship course at my local university; but the same university like many others offers annual updates for all nurse mentors.
Some of the research politely hints (presumably for fear of offending anyone) that updated [specifically-qualified] nurse mentors should receive extra payment for their role (as mentors do in social services); and should have protected time to spend with students. As so many things in nursing seem to be, these are good ideas and would provide incentives to mentor if only they would happen. A lot of emphasis is placed upon the student’s experiences of learning and of mentorship. I think more time and attention should be devoted to the experience of nurse mentors and that this emphasis should be publicised so that nurses who mentor are aware of it.
