Mentoring the novice nurse researcher.

Abstract

M ENTORING, an ancient concept, is achieving a resurgence of interest today. Although the primary emphasis on mentoring has been in the business community, other professions, specifically nursing and education, are also beginning to examine the mentoring process for the development of new professionals. The focus of this article is to discuss how mentoring can assist the novice nurse researcher in his or her professional and personal growth. Mentorship originated in Greek mythology and stems from Ulysses’ appointment of Mentor, a‘wise and faithful friend, to be the guardian and tutor of his son. Mentoring occurs “when a senior person (mentor) in terms of age and experience, undertakes to provide information, advice and emotional support to a junior person (mentee) in a relationship lasting over an extended period of time, and is marked by substantial emotional commitment by both parties” (Bowen, 1986, p. 61). In nursing, mentoring is believed to enhance the socialization process of young professionals (Betz, 1985; Caine, 1989; Hagerty, 1986). Mentoring is viewed as an effective method for reducing the stress experienced by the novice student (Policinski & Davidhazar, 1985), as well as by the newly graduated practitioner (O’Connor, 1988). It is also thought that mentoring raises the mentee’s selfesteem, assists in the development of a professional identity, and promotes career success and advancement for the mentee (May, Meleis, & Winstead-Fry, 1982). However, little has been said about the role of mentoring in preparing future nurse researchers. The traditional mentoring relationship is formed between a senior, experienced mentor and a junior, developing professional; the only necessary tie between the mentor and the mentee is that they mutually agree to the establishment of the relationship. In terms of mentoring for research, mentoring requires that this mutually agreed to and purposeful relationship is formed between a senior, experienced researcher and a junior or novice researcher. Typically, the mentor and mentee have the mentoring relationship as the common bond between them; in other words, they ‘are colleagues who, by age and/or experience, are at different points in their professional development. When the mentee is in a service or employee relationship with the mentor, mentoring is still possible; it just takes careful attention to the mentoring aspects of the relationship. The mentoring relationship includes goals for both professional and personal growth of the mentee. More specifically, mentoring is expected to (a) provide resources and experiences that improve the mentee’s skills and abilities to engage in research activities, (b) create research opportunities for the mentee, and (c) assist the mentee to identify how her/his professional and personal worlds merge. From personal experience as a research assistant* to a faculty member-mentor engaged in several research projects, I have found that while mentorship has provided many things, it has mainly provided me with a clearer and more profound understanding of the research process. On a technical level, the mentor has served as a teacher, guide, and role model. During formal and informal discussion, I have been able to identify problem areas in nursing and nursing research, especially those areas that are