Mentoring has long been an essential and valued practice across many industries. As a matter of fact, 84% of Fortune 500 companies have mentorship programs. Mentoring has impressive benefits related to improved staff satisfaction, reductions in staff turnover, and strengthening the bonds between team members.
Translating the concept of mentorship to the healthcare industry, it’s not surprising that when it’s done right, mentoring in healthcare can bring about significant positive changes to an industry that often faces unique challenges. Challenges can range from staffing shortages to economic constraints to the pressure to achieve public measures of excellence, and they demand a workforce that can withstand unflagging action.
Effective mentoring is associated with benefits that can help each individual personally and professionally. Appreciating the benefits while supporting both the mentor and mentee in their role creates a pathway for successful mentoring.
How Mentoring Helps Healthcare Professionals
Ask a person you know who has achieved professional success and they will likely be able to identify someone in their life who has mentored them along the way. Sometimes mentorship is intentional, and sometimes it just happens spontaneously.
Consistent with creating an intentional mentorship practice, there has been a push to develop formal programs that address staff and institutional needs. Mentorship helps staff members develop relationships and become aware of new opportunities that support them personally and professionally while also benefiting the organization.
The healthcare industry is made up of many layers with a lot of moving parts operated by a diverse spectrum of people. Effective mentoring in healthcare will help staff build confidence, reduce chronic stress and burnout, retain staff, and skills while potentially opening up new learning opportunities along with creating a platform for members of different generations to communicate and reflect on their growth. Mentoring relationships traverse roles, gender, age, and expertise, offering an enriched experience that someone might not otherwise have had an opportunity to obtain.
Of course, mentorship is not a one-way street. The mentor-mentee relationship offers an opportunity for both involved to learn from one another. Yes, the mentor likely has more experience and expertise on certain subjects and the overall goal is for the mentee to experience growth under the guidance of their mentor. However, one of the things that probably supported that mentor through their successes would be the inclination to be a life-long learner, which means that the mentor is just as likely to learn inside this relationship as the mentee is.
Formal mentorship programs are often accompanied by the benefit of structure to keep both the mentor and the mentee committed to the process while fostering lasting relationships.
Advice for Healthcare Mentors
Mentorship in healthcare can take many forms. Perhaps you’ve been assigned to orient a new nurse who has just passed their boards. Or, maybe there is an experienced nurse who is new to your floor. Either way, your mentorship will help to guide that clinician professionally, supporting their needs.
If you’ve been offered an opportunity to serve as a mentor, consider it a privilege and an honor, as well as a testament to your knowledge, skills, and abilities. It’s important to appreciate your role as a mentor because how you perceive the responsibility has a measurable impact on how effective you’ll be.
Mentoring in healthcare will certainly have a personal touch because how we mentor one another is affected by things like our beliefs, our opinion on the purpose of mentoring, and the strategies we use. While this is a good thing, there are some ways to ensure your mentorship stays on track.
First, Critically Examine Your Mentorship Strategy
This will allow you to think about how you act as a mentor and regulate how attitudes, values, and beliefs influence mentorship duties, creating a mentoring relationship that transcends your own personal needs and goals.
Second, Support Colleagues in a Healthy Work-Life Balance
As a mentor and role model, you can help promote a staff member’s academic success, professional development, and satisfaction—but that’s a slippery slope if it’s not carefully balanced. Helping your mentee maintain a healthy work-life balance teaches them to manage the conflicting demands of their work and private life.
Finally, Push for Mentor Development Programs
Just because you’re good at your job and have risen through the ranks doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good mentor. Learning how to become a mentor requires training programs that specifically target developing that resource.
Here at Premiere Education, we take mentoring in healthcare seriously. To stay up-to-date with the latest tips and resources related to nursing, subscribe to our monthly The State of Nursing Newsletter. Sign up here.
