Abstract
To explore registered nurses' mentorship practices of first-year nursing students in nursing home placements. Enabling nursing students to develop professional competence through clinical placements relies heavily on registered nurses' mentorship practices. Despite renewed interest in nursing homes as an important clinical placement setting, studies are scarce on registered nurses' mentorship practices in this context. An exploratory, qualitative mixed-methods design. The data consisted of 126h' observation of two registered nurse mentor-student dyads, supplemented by in-depth interviews (n=12) with registered nurse mentors. The data were collected in three Norwegian nursing homes and analysed using content analysis. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist were used to report the findings. The registered nurses' mentorship practices of first-year nursing students in nursing home clinical placement were characterised by (1) variability and uncertainty in pedagogical supervisory approaches, (2) lack of management support and engagement of staff members in supervision, (3) lack of supervisory continuity and (4) a peripheral role in formal assessment discussions. A marginal nursing home context, alongside a mismatch between registered nurses' roles and first-year students' learning objectives, introduces considerable vulnerability that impedes effective mentorship practices. Targeted efforts to enhance mentorship practices in nursing homes are warranted to promote full use of the learning potential in this context. Developing and testing educational interventions is necessary to effectively enhance registered nurses' pedagogical competence, alongside engagement and support from nurse managers and nurse educators. This study provides insight into barriers to effective mentorship practices of first-year nursing students in nursing home placements. These barriers warrant attention from nursing home managers and nurse education institutions towards improvements that enhance effective mentorship practices vital for students' learning, professional growth and future recruitment to care for older people.
Highlights
This study aimed to increase understanding of the mentorship practices of registered nurses (RNs) in nursing homes
Results description Categories: 1)Variability and uncertainty in pedagogical supervisory approaches 2) Lack of management support and staff members engagement in supervision 3) Lack of supervisory continuity 4) A peripheral role in formal assessments discussions trustworthiness (Lincoln & Guba, 1985)
The synthesised analysis identified four categories describing the characteristics of RN mentorship practices for first-year students assigned to clinical placements in nursing homes: (1) variability and uncertainty in pedagogical supervisory approaches, (2) lack of management support and staff member engagement in supervision, (3) lack of supervisory continuity and (4) a peripheral role in formal assessment discussions
Summary
This study aimed to increase understanding of the mentorship practices of registered nurses (RNs) in nursing homes. The global population is ageing, and the number of people aged 80 years and older is expected to triple by 2050 (Keeping-Burke et al, 2020) This implies a need to prepare a workforce to meet future healthcare needs and emphasises the importance of RNs specialised in gerontology to meet the healthcare needs associated with an ageing population (Carlson & Bengtson, 2014), along with a nursing education curriculum including gerontology to adequately prepare students for clinical placement in long-term care facilities (Keeping-Burke et al, 2020). The supervisory relationship and the role of the RN mentor are of utmost significance in influencing a student's learning experience This emphasises the importance of effective mentorship practices in nursing students’ clinical education (Hilli et al, 2014; Papastavrou et al, 2016). No international consensus exists on the minimum qualifications or required competencies for RN mentors in students’ clinical practice education (Dobrowolska et al, 2016)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
