A mentoring programme to meet newly graduated nurses’ needs and give senior nurses a new career opportunity: A multiple-case study

Eva Jangland,Lena Gunningberg,Lena Nyholm

doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103233

Abstract

AimTo evaluate the implementation of a multifaceted mentoring programme in a large university hospital and describe its value from the perspectives of newly graduated nurses, experienced nurses and the hospital organisation. BackgroundHealthcare organisations need long-term competence-planning strategies to retain nurses, prevent their premature departure from the profession and use their competencies. This paper reports a mentoring programme focused on supporting newly graduated nurse’ transition to practice and senior nurses’ professional development as supervisors. DesignA multiple-case study. MethodsWe performed 35 interviews with nurses, supervisors and nurse managers in the five units that implemented the programme, mapped the programme at the hospital level and extracted the nurses’ working hours. The interviews were analysed thematically using the theoretical lens of the head–heart–hand model to interpret the results. ResultsOf 46 units in the hospital, 14 had implemented one or several of the components in the mentoring programme. The programme corresponded to the newly graduated nurses’ needs, gave senior nurses a new career opportunity and contributed to an attractive workplace. The main theme, Giving new nurses confidence, experienced nurses a positive challenge and the organisation an opportunity to learn, reflects the value of the programme’s supervisory model to new and experienced nurses and to the organisation as a whole. ConclusionThe mentoring programme appeared to be a promising way to smooth the transition for newly graduated nurses. The experienced supervising nurses were key to the success of this complex programme, supporting the new nurses at the bedside and being available to respond to their questions and reflections. Embedding the supervisors in the units’ daily practice was necessary to the success of the different parts of the programme. Despite the strategic and well-designed implementation of this mentoring programme aimed to solve the everyday challenge of nurse shortages in the hospital, it was a challenge to implement it fully in all the units studied.

Highlights

Hospitals everywhere find it difficult to recruit and retain nurses
The main theme and the four subordinate themes reflecting the value of the mentoring programme for both new and senior nurses are elab orated below, following an initial description of the programme’s implementation in the hospital and the included units
Reasons, stated by the nurse managers, for not implementing the programme included the nurse manager’s recent recruitment or work overload, a shortage of senior nurses to act as supervisors, insufficient resources to allow anyone time to work within the project and in one case organisational issues due to the unit’s move to new premises

Summary

Introduction

Hospitals everywhere find it difficult to recruit and retain nurses. This is a complex problem, but nurses’ high workloads in organisations providing insufficient support is a central component (Hayes et al, 2012; Lu et al, 2019; Morsiani et al, 2017). High turnover leads to fewer expe rienced professionals available to advise newly graduated nurses (Willman et al, 2020). Nurses are especially difficult to retain in an organisation that lacks senior competence (Bisholt, 2012; Blomberg et al, 2016; Jangland et al, 2017). Graduated nurses are expected to deliver safe, high-quality care, but feel they have little opportunity to influence their work to achieve that goal (Lindqvist et al, 2014, 2015). It is crucial that the organisation provides supportive leadership to and have strategies in place for their professional development (Blomberg et al, 2016; Wei et al, 2019)

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Discussion

Conclusion