Mentorship provision for student nurses: Conceptions of Finnish and British mentors in healthcare placements

Abstract

Background: The unification process for clinical education in Europe seeks to standardise the attainment of competencies by students and effective mentorship is central to this.Aim: This paper is a report on a study describing Finnish and British mentors' conceptions of mentorship provision for pre-registration nursing students during placement learning in healthcare settings. Methods:This qualitative study adopted a phenomenographical approach, which focused on the different ways mentorship provision for student nurses were experienced. Conceptions data from Finnish (n=22) and British (n=17) mentors were collected from nine focus group interviews between 2007 and 2008. Findings:The mentors' conceptions consisted of dimensions of organisational, environmental, educational and personal provisions, which connected to three categories of description: workable, insufficient and improvement-requiring mentorship. The workable student mentorship included efficient organisations, well-equipped learning environments, co-operative partnerships and the mentors' personal and professional competence. The insufficient student mentorship was characterised by deficient managerial investments, overloaded placements with stressed staff, unsatisfying co-operation with stakeholders and lack of resources and personal skills of mentors. The improvement-requiring mentorship emphasized higher status and clearer guidelines for mentorship, appropriate placement allocation with joint involvement of stakeholders, better level of student preparedness, and more educational and personal resources for mentors. Conclusion:There is a need to create a systematic, collaborative and highly valued strategy for mentorship provision for pre-registration nursing students in the healthcare settings. This would increase the quality of placement learning, enhance recruitment of the nursing workforce and also harmonise clinical education in Europe.

Development and testing of an evidence-based model of mentoring nursing students in clinical practice

“…Mentoring is a key element of students´ clinical learning, and hence nursing education (Tuomikoski et al, 2018b). Thus, improving mentors´ competences in clinical settings enhances nursing students´ competences and their professional identity (Jokelainen et al, 2012).…”

The Clinical Learning Environment: The Attitude of Undergraduate Student Nurses Towards Mentorship at Hospitals in Lithuania

“…Antohe et al (2016) state that supervision and mentoring are supportive relationships, which help individuals to obtain new skill, knowledge and approaches. Students mentorships require qualified and experienced nurses to act as mentors for individual students (Jokelainen et al, 2013). The study results revealed statistically significant differences between the attitude of the students supervised by ward manager and students supervised by registered nurse.…”

“…Mentors are also expected to facilitate a supportive learning environment and conduct an assessment on the student's performance and attainment of clinical skills (Ali & etc., 2008). This role requires mentors to facilitate students' personal and professional growth and the development of nursing competencies (Jokelainen et al, 2013). It has been presented that a mentor acts as a role model, and guides and advises a student (Myall et al, 2008).…”

Veiksminga Mentorystė: Slaugos Studijų Atvejis

“…Aukštojo mokslo institucijos, remiantis Europos Sąjungos direktyvomis, vykdo slaugos studijų programas, kurios užtikrina kompetencijų, būtinų profesinei slaugos praktikai, įgijimą (Jokelainen, Jamookeeah, Tossavainen, Turunen, 2013). Slauga yra ir menas, ir mokslas, reikalaujantis specifinių slaugos žinių, gebėjimų taikymo praktinėje veikloje.…”