Mentorship. Mentor Information Pack

Transcription

1 Mentor Information Pack

2 Mentor Package Casilda Cannon Objectives... 3 Introduction... 3 What is Mentoring... 4 Role and Responsibilities... 6 Characteristics of a Good Mentor... 9 Characteristics of a Poor Mentor Pitfalls of Mentoring Benefits of Mentoring Summary Reference List... 15

3 O b j e c t i v e s At the completion of this session you will: Understand what mentoring is, including the goals of being a mentor for the Transfusion Nurse in your organisation. Be familiar with the characteristics of a good and poor mentor Understand the benefits and pitfalls of mentoring R e a d i n g s Fawcett, D.L. (2002). Mentoring What It Is and How to Make It Work. AORN Journal. 75 (5). May: Gray, M.A & Smith, L.N. (2000). The qualities of an effective mentor from the student nurse s perspective: findings from a longitudinal qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 32 (6): Introduction Allen (2002, p.440) wrote the following about mentoring People come in and go out of our lives all the time. Some of these relationships help us grow, and through them, we learn personal and professional lessons of life. Special relationships provide a catalyst for our transformation as individuals and help us grow, open windows to new capabilities, and create new ways of interacting with the world around us. These relationships constitute the

4 reciprocal, interactive process of learning that connects us so we can reach our goals and grow together. Mentoring can be dated back to Geek mythology, Homer s Odyssey, and from reading the literature it is a complex topic due to a lack of consensus on the definition of the mentor s role and responsibilities. Some of the confusion stems from the word mentor being used interchangeable with supervisor, facilitator, preceptor and co-ordinator, however, mentoring is different and this session aims to clarify that difference by exploring the following: What is mentoring? Goals and responsibilities of a mentor Characteristics of a good and poor mentor Benefits and pitfalls of mentoring What is Mentoring First let s define terms utilised when discussing mentoring. Mentor / Mentee refers to the individuals involved Mentoring / Mentorship refers to the actual process Considerable debate surrounds the concept of mentoring and the term mentor has been associated with related terms such as counsellor, advisor, assessor and supervisor. Mentoring is more than a professional association and should also include developing a personal rapport with your mentee. The manner in which mentoring on both a professional and personal level influences the relationship is highlighted by Morten

5 Cooper and Palmer (200, p.39), who argue that: Mentoring concerns the building of a dynamic relationship in which the personal characteristics, philosophies and priorities of the individual members interact to influence, in turn, the nature, direction and duration of the resulting, eventual relationship. Developing a personal relationship with your mentee may be established by holding your weekly meetings over morning tea or lunch. This aids in seeing each other as friends rather than just colleagues and helps to reduce any hierarchical differences in the organisational status of the mentor and mentee. The aim is to develop a peer relationship through which both the mentor and mentee gain professionally and personally. Developing a personal rapport with your mentee may take time, however, it can be achieved if the mentoring relationship is founded on mutual respect, trust, understanding and empathy. In the literature there are three main types of mentoring employed: Classical mentoring Contract mentoring and Pseudo mentoring Classical mentoring is informal and a form of primary mentoring. The individuals involved determine the defined aims and function of the relationship. The relationship is professional, organisational, personal and emotional, there are generally no monetary rewards for the mentor and the association may last for 2 to 15 years. The nature of the mentor-mentee relationship you will

6 have with the Transfusion Nurse is contract mentoring. Contract mentoring is a relationship created for a specific purpose by an organisation essentially with a clear purpose, function, defined aims or outcomes, selected, forced matching or choice of mentors and with duration of 1 to 2 years. The relationship is focused on the mentor providing helper functions that will be examined in detail later. Part of your role as mentor will be to establish pseudomentoring relationships for the Transfusion Nurse with other individuals. Pseudo mentoring occurs through activities such as academic involvement, orientation and induction programs. The nature of this form of mentoring is focused on specific tasks and organisational issues for a short duration. Several mentors provide guidance for a short time frame and duration is generally only for 6 weeks. The purpose of facilitating this type of mentoring is to engage appropriate individuals to assist the Transfusion Nurse in learning theory and completing tasks in speciality areas. Role and Responsibilities Katz (2001) has identified important goals of the mentormentee relationship as: Advancing the personal and educational growth of the mentee Nurturing the mentee in self sufficiency Demonstrate the need for scientific integrity and Facilitate the mentee in becoming a colleague

7 Your role and responsibilities as a mentor involves role modelling and assisting the Transfusion Nurse in fulfilling his/her potential. This is accomplished via words and actions and also by focusing on the helper functions: Advisor Coach Counsellor Guide / networker Role model Sponsor Teacher and Resource facilitator All of the above helper functions are important responsibilities of being a mentor, however, the foremost ones are advisor, guide / networker, sponsor and resource facilitator. These are vital in assisting the transfusion nurse role to become established within the organisation and for the transfusion nurse to become self sufficient in the role. Being an advisor involves offering support and advice to the transfusion nurse in relation to professional and social issues. Another aspect of an advisor is being able to highlight to your Mentee their abilities and merits in achieving the goals determined by the role and the organisation. This also aids in building the transfusion nurse s confidence, growth and self-esteem and the capability to fulfil the role. An important part of your role will be as a guide / networker, which involves helping the transfusion nurse in establishing necessary contacts and networks with key

8 individuals and groups within the organisation (i.e. quality and transfusion committee members, risk manager). This facet of the transfusion nurse role is vital in assisting them to make the necessary links that will ensure change is achieved and sustained. Sponsoring the transfusion nurse entails influencing their role development via introducing and promoting the transfusion nurse role within the organisation and its professional cultures. A resource facilitator involves not only being a resource person for the transfusion nurse but also being able to direct them to appropriate individuals able to give support on specific issues. The importance of the above highlighted roles and responsibilities of a mentor is supported by Groah (1996, p.868): One scholar has identified the following five roles that mentors perform. Mentors are Teachers who enhance young people s skills and intellectual development Sponsors who ease novices entries into and advancement in the world Hosts and guides who welcome initiates into new occupational and social worlds and the accompanying values, customs, resources, and cast of characters Exemplars who serve as personal examples of virtues, achievements, and ways of life Counsellors who provide advice and moral support.

9 R e a d i n g Read Mentoring What it is and How to Make it Work by Fawcett. This is a brief, informative article looking at mentoring and providing useful ideas on how to be an effective mentor and how to ensure the relationship achieves the desired objectives and outcomes. R e f l e c t i o n Take some time to reflect on your own personal experience as a Mentee. Identify a person who has been a professional mentor to you in your career either through a formal or informal relationship. Some points to consider when reflecting: What were the things that helped you most in this relationship? Was being a mentee a positive experience? Why / Why not? Did you gain anything from the relationship? How could the relationship of been improved? Characteristics of a Good Mentor There have been various studies undertaken examining the characteristics that make a good mentor in nursing. Darling (1984) identified mutual trust, attraction and commitment of time and energy as essential for

10 mentoring to be successful. Allen (2002) depicts three similar crucial elements necessary for successful mentoring: Mutual respect and trust Understanding, empathy and cooperation and Mutual sharing of information via good communication skills Aside from the above essential elements for successful mentoring the literature also highlights the need of the mentor to have the following personal characteristics: Being approachable and open Being a good listener, problem solver and observer Possessing good interpersonal and communication skills Having a positive attitude about self, others, the organisation and teaching Having openness and attention to learning Preparedness to provide supervisory and positive support through encouragement; and, Holding professional development capacity Characteristics of a Poor Mentor Understanding the characteristics of poor mentoring is also a key to developing an effective mentoring role so that these can be avoided or minimised.. Negative traits of individuals in supporting roles such as a mentor can have detrimental affects on those involved in the mentoring relationship. Heirs and Farrell (1986) identified three categories of

11 behaviours (rigid, ego and machiavellian minds), which represent disabling behaviour, and can make the relationship ineffective. These disabling traits can be interchanged with the following characteristics: Blocker Dumper and Destroyer / criticiser These defined behaviours and traits are not desirable in a mentor-mentee relationship as they work against the mentor s role as a support person to the mentee. Mentor s who lack the willingness and ability to fully participate in a successful relationship are not suitable for the role. R e a d i n g Read The qualities of an effective mentor from the student nurse s perspective: findings from a longitudinal qualitative study by Gray and Smith. This article not only examines those characteristics which students perceive as essential for a mentor to have and those which hinder the relationship, it also looks at how the mentoring relationship changes toward the end of the association and how this gradual distancing can be achieved. Even though the Transfusion Nurses are not nursing students they are novices in a new role and are likely to be unfamiliar with organisational politics, policies, procedures and may lack confidence in working in this environment.

12 Pitfalls of Mentoring Unfortunately there are limitations that can hinder you in your role as mentor. While some of these are related to individual issues there are some organisational characteristics that can affect the efficacy of the mentoring relationship. Aside from the disabling traits of individuals which make then ineffective as a mentor Andrews and Wallis (1999, p.204) stated Wilson (1986) studied mentorship from the mentor s perspective. Findings demonstrate that despite mentorship being seen as a positive activity there are difficulties relating to role conflict and lack of time to achieve optimum mentor supervision. Although this study was carried out nearly twenty years ago, the literature cites more recent studies that still have the same findings. A significant pitfall to the efficacy of the mentoring relationship is the lack of preparation of the mentor for the role. This is not solely the responsibility of the mentor but also of their organisation. Mentors need to have access to workshops and other mentors in order to debrief and learn from others about what mentoring entails and how to make it work. As mentioned earlier organisation limitations will influence the success of mentoring. Some of the limitations which can be seen in an organisation and ultimately hinder both the mentor and mentee include:

13 Rigid hierarchy Lack of collegiality and trust Heavy politics High staff turnover and Poor morale Benefits of Mentoring On a more positive note there are many benefits for individuals who take on the role of mentor. These include: Personal satisfaction Professional development Developing qualities / skills which enhance ones leadership development Adaptability within the organisation Open and effective working relationships Developing skills in problem solving. Morten-Cooper et al (2000) also depict the following benefits for the Mentee and organisation: Mentee: professional identity and increased job satisfaction with the possibilities of advancement and success as they become socialised to the organisation Organisation: a satisfied and motivated workforce with positive outcomes for customers and clients. Summary

14 The role of mentoring is to provide novices with the support from experienced practitioners to learn and develop both professionally and personally in order to fulfil their potential and self-sufficiency. This session briefly covered mentoring in relation to what it entails, mentor goals/responsibilities, characteristics of a good / poor mentor and the pitfalls and benefits of mentoring. Hopefully your questions have been clarified concerning the role of a nursing mentor and the important responsibilities needed to support the transfusion nurse in your organisation. To conclude with a quote from Allen (2002, p.443) Each of us has our own gifts to share. We must appreciate this uniqueness and share our gifts willingly.

15 R e f e r e n c e L i s t Allen, S.L. (2002). Mentoring The essential connection. AORN Journal. 75 (3): Andrews, M & Wallis, M. (1999). Mentorship in nursing: a literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 29 (1): Darling, L.A.W. (1984). What do nurses want in a mentor? The Journal of Nursing Administration. Oct: Groah. L.K. (1996). Mentoring is the greatest gift that perioperative nurse can give to each other. AORN Journal. 64 (6): Heirs, B. & Farrell, P. (1986). The Professional Decision Thinker Our New Managemet Priority, (2 nd Edition). Hertfordshire. Garden City Press Ltd. Katz, S.L. (2001). Acceptance: A Mentor s Joys and Responsibilities. Pediatric Research. 49 (5): Morten-Cooper, A & Palmer, A. (2000). Mentoring, Preceptorship and Clinical Supervision: A Guide to Professional Support Roles in Clinical Practice (2 nd Edition). Great Britain. The Alden Press: Oxford & Northampton.