Barker, E. (2006). Mentoring—A complex relationship. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 18(2), 56-61.
Baker’s Abstract: To address the process of mentoring the advanced practice nurse (APN) and provide suggestions for the formulation, implementation, and termination of the relationship. Data sources: Research studies from nursing as well as other disciplines and personal experience as a mentor and protégé . Conclusions: Mentoring is a dynamic and complex relationship that can support growth, increase synergy, and develop ways to succeed as an APN. Before entering into the relationship, care should be taken to assure compatibility between the mentor and the protégé´ . Major pitfalls include poor communication patterns and inadequate identification of objectives. Keys for repair or termination of the relationship include personal introspection, honest and nonblaming communication, and development of alternative support networks. Implications for practice: Successful mentoring relationships improve professional growth, competency, and productivity. They also form the basis for ongoing preparation of a new generation of APNs.
The Author believes that this article is important to students of Adult Learning due to the specific focus of mentoring as a tool for creating a learning environment and career advancement. This article focuses on a unique profession, Advanced Practice Nurses (APN) or Nurse Practitioners (NP). Unique because they were working as RNs while continuing their formal education to become APNs; crossing the lines of what Human Resource Development (HRD) defines as traditional learning and adult learning. For those studying Adult Learning Baker’s article offers insight into a profession that begins clinical practice as a novice, but with the work history of an expert. So how does someone who has practical experience and formal education enter into a profession and continue the momentum of learning? Baker expresses the benefits of mentorship as one possibility. She explores the definition of the mentoring relationship and how to build a foundation for this arrangement. This article is of particular interest to the author due to its relative continent to his profession as a recruiter for Advanced Practice Nurses, and as Baker points out, "Although mentoring of the undergraduate nursing
student has been well explored, the mentoring of the advanced practice nurse (APN), particularly after graduation, is not well documented in the literature (2006)."
Baker begins her article by stating, "Mentoring is a process designed to bridge the gap between the educational process and the real-world experience." She provides some history of mentoring, pointing out that one of the first descriptions of the mentoring process is found in Homer’s Odyssey where the transformation from boy to man of Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, is lead by Athene and is used as an allegory for the process of maturing and taking command of difficult situations (Baker references Lattimore, 1965). Mentoring is further described as a planned relationship between an experienced person and one who has less experience for the purpose of achieving identified outcomes (Dorsey & Baker, 2004). Baker (2006) states that, "In nursing, mentoring has been defined as a situation that promotes personal and professional development in which general well-being is enhanced, synergy is increased, new insights are gained."
Baker justifies the need for her article by stating that in nursing mentoring is often not a formalized process, and referenced that Marquis and Houston (2000) contend most nurses will be lucky if they have one or two true mentors in their entire career. A study by Freeman (2004), referenced by Baker, of 565 APNs entering into the clinical setting after graduation; only 35% reported they had been assigned mentors, 6% were sought by a mentor, 23% of the APNs sought a mentor, and17% indicated that they entered into a mentoring relationship by ‘‘chance.’’ One interesting fact of the study showed that 19% of the APN’s were unable to identify the genesis of the mentoring relationship. And yet, despite the low percentages of APNs who began their practice in a mentoring relationship the study proved these mentored APNs were, "better able to meet the primary care system’s productivity demands (Freeman 2004)."
Baker then describes a mentoring relationship as being different than the relationship with a preceptor or physician consultant. She states that the later two are more short-term in duration and differ in the overall purpose of the relationship. Although commonalities do exist such as a neophyte learning from one with greater experience, the mentoring relationship is said by Baker to be one where a APN learns a particular procedure or skill and then moves on to another preceptor to learn yet another aspect of clinical practice. And, the physician consultant is said by Baker to be, in most cases, a regulatory agreement for the purpose of state compliance and not a relationship of directing one practitioner to become more advanced in clinical skills.
The article then discusses the need to set up proper expectations for the mentoring relationship and matching a mentee and mentor. An important element of the expectation for
success is that the mentoring relationship is a bidirectional undertaking that should include the review of influences of a mentoring dyad created in 1983 by D. E. Kram. The dyad’s critical influences are, interpersonal expertise, ability to communicate, and listening skills of
both parties. Baker’s article explains how one might go about preparing for a successful mentoring relationship maintaining that communication and one’s attitude are key. She summarizes that skillful communication, mutual commitment, and a willingness to support mutual growth are important components of successful relationships. Baker takes the discussion a bit further by addressing what to do if the mentoring relationship has become problematic. Outlining the major pitfalls as poor matching of the dyad, lack of expertise, poor communication patterns and inappropriate identification of the objectives and expectation for the relationship by either the mentor or mentee.
In her conclusion, Baker states, "mentoring is a dynamic and complex relationship that has the potential for increased synergy and successful personal and professional development." But she warns that before entering into the partnership the practitioners should identify and mutually agreed upon expectations.
From the author’s perspective there are many practical applications within this article. It is written by an Advanced Practice Nurse who is a the director of a family nurse practitioner program at the Ohio State University College of Nursing in Columbus, OH and from the perspective of one who has practiced in a clinical setting as a novice and is still practicing in the clinic today. Her perspectives enhance the practical applications of her report, starting with informing the reader of what a mentorship is to a Nurse Practitioner and how it is not a preceptorship or a physician consultant relationship. Baker’s defining characteristics are incredibility helpful in determining if the relationship has been established in the model of a mentorship stating, mentoring relationship is a, "bidirectional undertaking," with defined expectations for the outcome of the relationship. Addressing that it is not short-term in nature, yet mentorships are not appropriate for environments where continued employment is desired.
Baker’s article is one of the best overviews of mentorship reviewed by the author, in that she covers the relationship from start to finish and what is needed to build the relationship in the right way. Baker’s complete assessment even includes a section devoted to identifying a mentorship that is not working, and what to do about it in order to salvage a positive relationship and any desired results from the mentoring relationship.
Perhaps one of the most beneficial aspects of Baker’s article is that she identifies the role of both the mentor and the mentee, describing the attributes of each and how both mentors and mentees can contribute to the success or failure of the mentorship. The author found Baker’s discussion of matching the mentor and mentee using the dyad. She outlines the characteristics or attitudes to avoid in mentors and mentees. This information is excellent for practitioners of Adult Learning to identify the red flags of mentors or mentees who have the wrong attitudes or perceive the relationship for something other than what it is meant for.
Lastly the author believes that Baker could have improved upon the article by providing some of her own case studies describing a situation where a mentorship was a success and another where it was a failure. Baker could build upon her efforts by offering original research and reporting her own findings more that referencing the works of others.
Baker does offer a foundation for many opportunities for HRD professionals and Advanced Practitioners. Research opportunities could include effects of mentorships on the learning environment, the success ratios of practitioners who are mentored compared to those who were not mentored, and perhaps even further exploration of the differences between the relationships of mentorships and that preceptorship and physician consultation.
by Blake Moser
Advanced Practice Recruiters
888-812-3452 ext. 707
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