A Teaching Mentorship Program to Facilitate Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The impact of decreasing faculty numbers on the nursing shortage has been well documented. Mentoring is recognized as the most significant way to grow and nurture nurse educators. The purpose of this article was to describe the Teaching Mentorship Program within the College of Nursing Department of Biobehavioral Health Science at a Midwestern state university. The program activities are designed to facilitate new faculty members' transition from the role of nurse clinician to the role of nurse educator, to support the implementation of evidence-based teaching practices, and to encourage the development of teaching scholarship. Outcomes of the program include retention of new faculty, improved student satisfaction with the quality of instruction, and increased teaching scholarship activities. The program demonstrates the three hallmarks of an effective mentoring program. First, the program is supported by an institutional culture that values mentoring and provides it with an organizational home. Second, the Associate Department Head and primary mentor has been an educator for 37 years with expertise in curriculum development, program evaluation, and teaching methodologies. Third, because the associate department head's principle role is to implement the program and serve as the primary mentor, her commitment is to provide flexible, timely access to faculty.

Mixed-Methods Assessment of a Mentoring Program

“…Mixed method studies (Bean et al, 2014;Fox, 2012;Marcellino, 2011;Thomas et al, 2015) and qualitative studies (Bell & Treleaven, 2011;Carney et al, 2016;Hubball et al, 2010) compose a minority of the mentoring assessments. Quantitative studies, employing one or more methods, are more prevalent (Bertram et al, 2015;Browning et al, 2014;Cofrancesco et al, 2018;Huenneke et al, 2017;Mayer et al, 2014;Minnick et al, 2018;Morrison et al, 2014;Sheridan et al, 2015;Slimmer, 2012;Varkey et al, 2012;Weaver, 2013). This finding suggests a shift toward quantitative assessment since 2014.…”

“…About half of the quantitative studies use a survey, alone or in addition to other quantitative tools. Researchers who report on a single administration of a survey, usually do so after the pilot year(s) of a mentoring program (Marcellino, 2011;Sheridan et al, 2015;Slimmer, 2012;Thomas, 2015;Varkey et al, 2012). In line with the goals of improving and sustaining programs, some coordinators of mentoring activities have increased the rigor of their assessment by conducting surveys on an annual basis (Bean et al, 2014;Bertram et al, 2015;Cofrancesco et al, 2018;Fox, 2012).…”

Exploring mentorship programs and components in nursing academia: A qualitative study

“…[22,24] Other authors have recommended that mentorship participants be encouraged to work together to articulate the purpose of the mentorship relationship, roles of the participants, and set mentoring goals to bring direction and clarity to their mentoring responsibilities. [7,23,27,28,[30][31][32][33] We recommend that whether mentorship guidelines are predetermined or jointly developed, they be shared across the faculty to ensure a common understanding and expectations.…”

Percepção de estudantes de doutorado em enfermagem sobre planejamento de carreira e prioridades de pesquisa

“…There is also limited information on effective approaches to educating students on conducting research in nursing doctoral programs. (5)(6)(7)(8) The conducting research skills of doctoral students are a fundamental mechanism in the introduction, use and dissemination of nursing research to future nurses. (1,9) In order to guide doctoral nurses, they can set research priorities and plan independent research.…”

“…The main responsibilities of philosophical nurses are to identify research priorities, to conduct research and publish research findings Furthermore doctoral programs also contribute to increasing students interest in research by encouraging them critical thinking and develop new scientific viewpoints and approaches. (6)(7)(8)10) Thus, it is possible to explore new information acquired for the profession with theories learned in doctoral programs and various aspects of research processes. (11) The selection of research priorities provides a framework for consensus on the scientific gaps that need to be investigated and thus for the development and use of nursing knowledge.…”