An Educational Module to Increase Competence for Nurse Mentors Who Mentor Nursing Students on a Dedicated Educational Unit

Abstract

Nurses who mentor nursing students in a dedicated educational unit play an essential role in developing nursing students' knowledge, competencies, clinical skill, critical thinking skills, and professional development. Mentors bridge the gap between theory and practice and prepare the novice nurse for their demands as a nurse. Mentoring education is essential to increases nurse mentors' knowledge and competency when mentoring nursing students in clinical practice. Nurse mentors on a dedicated educational unit at Michigan Medicine are currently not required to complete mentor training before mentoring nursing students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an educational intervention on nurse mentors' ability to mentor nursing students on a dedicated instructional unit. A quasi-experimental evidence-based improvement project was designed to increase nurse mentor competence. The educational intervention involved nurse mentors completing a self-assessment before and after watching a video on mentoring concepts. Self-assessment data was collected using the Mentor Competence Instrument, which consisted of 41 items structured into seven mentoring categories. Seven nurse mentors fully participated in this project. Out of the seven participants, the most significant competency improvements were reported in two areas: familiarity with the tasks and responsibilities of being in charge of mentoring students (Mdn = 2, M = 1.14) and familiarity with the tasks and responsibilities of the mentor with an increased understanding of mentor and clinical faculty responsibilities (Mdn = 2, M = 1.14). The project provided a foundation for ongoing mentoring education to improve the clinical education of nursing students.