Mentoring in nursing education: An essential element in the retention of new nurse faculty.

Abstract

Mentoring in nursing education is essential to retaining nurse faculty; whether they are new to academia or experienced, but new to the institution in which they teach. Furthermore, mentoring promotes awareness of faculty roles and responsibilities, decreases ambiguity and increases retention of qualified nurse faculty. This study examined whether there was a relationship between nurse educator mentor's perception of their mentoring effectiveness and nurse educator mentee's perception of their mentor's effectiveness. A Spearman's rho correlation was conducted on a convenience sample of 119 nurse educators who completed the Principles of Adult Mentoring Inventory (PAMI), which measured six core mentoring behaviors. A secondary analysis using an independent samples t-test was also performed. Statistically significant results were revealed in two of the six mentoring behaviors; relationship emphasis (p=0.035) and confrontive focus (p=0.043). The Mentor Role Competency Profile (MRCP), a measure accompanying the PAMI, indicated concerns that could be counterproductive within the mentoring relationship. A secondary analysis using a t-test confirmed concerns as identified in the initial analysis. Continuous improvement and training are critical to acquiring and reinforcing effective mentoring skills. Requiring evaluation and follow up for mentors could result in increased satisfaction for both mentor and mentee and improve retention of new faculty in academia.