Students' perceptions of the effectiveness of mentors in an undergraduate nursing programme in Hong Kong

Exploring Nursing Students' Expectations on Preceptoring and Preceptorship Program: A Mixed Method Study

Introduction

This study addresses the imperative in contemporary nursing education to prepare students for diverse healthcare settings by exploring nursing students' expectations and perceptions of preceptorship programs, emphasizing the role of evidence-based educational strategies. The research aims to bridge the existing literature gap and contribute valuable insights into strategically designing preceptorship programs aligned with nursing students' needs, preferences, and aspirations, ultimately enhancing precepting practices and relationships within nursing education.

Methods

Employing a sequential explanatory mixed method, 140 nursing students, from various colleges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) participated in the study. A structured questionnaire, encompassing demographic information, a need assessment survey, and a survey on expectations on preceptors was administered. A focus group discussion was conducted to identify perceived barriers to the utilization of preceptorship practices in nursing colleges. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, exploratory factor analysis, and content analysis of the focus group discussion.

Results

The majority of participants expressed a high need for a preceptorship program, providing empirical evidence to support the development of a nurse educator preceptorship program in colleges and institutes. Preceptorship was identified as a significant contributor to career growth and achievement for nursing students, serving as a valuable tool to establish professional competency throughout their careers.

Conclusion

There is a complex demand and high expectations for the core role of nurse educators as preceptors in the field of nursing education. This pioneering study sheds light on the need and perception of nursing students for a preceptorship program in the nursing curriculum.

Development and psychometric properties of the assessment questionnaire for the process of the tutorial action plan

BACKGROUND

Internationally, most countries recognize the right of the student to receive assistance from teachers and tutors. The Tutorial Action Plan is a teaching tool that aims to promote academic, personal, and professional development in students. It is important to monitor this process of tutoring to be able to provide appropriate guidance to nursing students throughout their education.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to design and validate an instrument to measure and monitor nursing students' perceptions of the Tutorial Action Plan process.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study conducted in two phases. The first consisted of the development of the Assessment Questionnaire for the Process of the Tutorial Action Plan through discussion groups and participant consensus. With 35 items related to the tutoring process, the questionnaire was designed to monitor the impact of that process. The items were grouped into four dimensions: Usefulness of the Tutorial Action Plan, Opinion about Tutor and Development of the Tutorial, Development of the Degree Final Project, and Usefulness and Completeness of the Learning Folder. In the second phase the psychometric properties of the questionnaire were evaluated, utilizing a sample of 410 nursing students. Reliability was measured by means of internal consistency, and construct validity was measured by means of confirmatory factor analysis.

RESULTS

The overall Cronbach's alpha was 0.93, ranging from 0.73 to 0.92 for the dimensions. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fitted a four-factor structure.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that the Assessment Questionnaire for the Process of the Tutorial Action Plan is a valid and reliable assessment tool. This instrument is essential in monitoring the impact of tutoring of nursing students throughout their time in the program, both from a global perspective of the construct of tutoring and from the perspectives of the four dimensions identified.

Development and validation of the ExPRESS instrument for primary health care providers' evaluation of external supervision

Background: External supervision of primary health care facilities to monitor and improve services is common in low-income countries. Currently there are no tools to measure the quality of support in external supervision in these countries.

Aim: To develop a provider-reported instrument to assess the support delivered through external supervision in Rwanda and other countries.

Methods: “External supervision: Provider Evaluation of Supervisor Support” (ExPRESS) was developed in 18 steps, primarily in Rwanda. Content validity was optimised using systematic search for related instruments, interviews, translations, and relevance assessments by international supervision experts as well as local experts in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Construct validity and reliability were examined in two separate field tests, the first using exploratory factor analysis and a test–retest design, the second for confirmatory factor analysis.

Results: We included 16 items in section A (‘The most recent experience with an external supervisor’), and 13 items in section B (‘The overall experience with external supervisors’). Item-content validity index was acceptable. In field test I, test–retest had acceptable kappa values and exploratory factor analysis suggested relevant factors in sections A and B used for model hypotheses. In field test II, models were tested by confirmatory factor analysis fitting a 4-factor model for section A, and a 3-factor model for section B.

Conclusions: ExPRESS is a promising tool for evaluation of the quality of support of primary health care providers in external supervision of primary health care facilities in resource-constrained settings. ExPRESS may be used as specific feedback to external supervisors to help identify and address gaps in the supervision they provide. Further studies should determine optimal interpretation of scores and the number of respondents needed per supervisor to obtain precise results, as well as test the functionality of section B.

A review of mentorship measurement tools

OBJECTIVES

To review mentorship measurement tools in various fields to inform nursing educators on selection, application, and developing of mentoring instruments.

DESIGN

A literature review informed by PRISMA 2009 guidelines.

DATA SOURCES

Six databases: CINHAL, Medline, PsycINFO, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, Business premier resource.

REVIEW METHODS

Search terms and strategies used: mentor* N3 (behav* or skill? or role? or activit? or function* or relation*) and (scale or tool or instrument or questionnaire or inventory). The time limiter was set from January 1985 to June 2015. Extracted data were content of instruments, samples, psychometrics, theoretical framework, and utility. An integrative review method was used.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight papers linked to 22 scales were located, seven from business and industry, 11 from education, 3 from health science, and 1 focused on research mentoring. Mentorship measurement was pioneered by business with a universally accepted theoretical framework, i.e. career function and psychosocial function, and the trend of scale development is developing: from focusing on the positive side of mentorship shifting to negative mentoring experiences and challenges. Nursing educators mainly used instruments from business to assess mentorship among nursing teachers. In education and nursing, measurement has taken to a more specialised focus: researchers in different contexts have developed scales to measure different specific aspects of mentorship. Most tools show psychometric evidence of content homogeneity and construct validity but lack more comprehensive and advanced tests.

CONCLUSION

Mentorship is widely used and conceptualised differently in different fields and is less mature in nursing than in business. Measurement of mentorship is heading to a more specialised and comprehensive process. Business and education provided measurement tools to nursing educators to assess mentorship among staff, but a robust instrument to measure nursing students' mentorship is needed.

The core of mentorship: medical students' experiences of one-to-one mentoring in a clinical environment

Mentoring has been used in different health care educational programmes, but the core of mentorship, i.e., facilitating the development of medical students' professional competence, has not been explored in depth in the literature. In order to create effective and meaningful mentoring programmes, there is a need for deeper knowledge of the meaning of formal mentorship and, for this, the students' experiences are important. A mentoring program was set up where all medical students were offered a mentor during their first clinical courses; years 3-4. The mentors were physicians and their role as mentors was to support the students and act as sounding-boards, not to teach or assess knowledge. This study aimed to get a deeper understanding of the meaning of mentorship seen from the perspective of undergraduate medical students. A qualitative approach with individual interviews (N = 12) and inductive content analysis was chosen to investigate and interpret the meaning of mentorship. The results comprise three overarching themes: Space, Belief in the future and Transition. Having a mentor gave a sense of security and constituted a 'free zone' alongside the undergraduate programme. It gave hope about the future and increased motivation. The students were introduced to a new community and began to identify themselves as doctors. We would argue that one-to-one mentoring can create conditions for medical students to start to develop some parts of the professional competences that are more elusive in medical education programmes, such as reflective capacity, emotional competence and the feeling of belonging to a community.

Desired skills and attributes for dietitian preceptors

We examined the research literature to determine the skills and attributes that dietetic interns desire in clinical preceptors. A search of three databases produced little information specific to dietetics. Literature on preceptors in other health disciplines identified preceptor attributes that students in clinical placements value. We were able to cluster the data from these studies into four themes: knowledge and experience, personal characteristics, teaching skills and attitudes, and interpersonal relationships. This review suggests a need for further development of dietitian preceptor training, as well as for further research specific to dietetic interns' needs.

Partners in nursing: a mentoring initiative to enhance nurse retention

This article describes a community-based mentoring program, Partners in Nursing (PIN), which was developed as a collaborative effort to address the nursing workforce shortage.While the primary goal was to increase retention rates of new nurse graduates, the program also produced secondary benefits of professional development and outreach opportunities. Furthermore, through the creation of PIN, local resources were identified to support new graduates and cultivate leadership potential. While the program was deemed effective, continued research is needed to quantify the benefits of such programs so that similar initiatives can be successfully replicated.

Clinical Nursing Faculty Competence Inventory - development and psychometric testing

AIM

This paper is a report of the development and psychometric testing of the Clinical Nursing Faculty Competence Inventory.

BACKGROUND

Clinical faculty plays a vital role in nursing education. Highly competent clinical faculty is a prerequisite for graduating competent future nurses. Many studies have examined the effectiveness of clinical nursing teaching. Yet, translating this body of knowledge into accurate and comprehensive assessment tools for measuring the competence of nursing faculty remains a challenge.

METHOD

Thirty-one indicators of core competence of clinical nursing faculty were identified thorough literature review, expert consultation and a small sample pilot test. A total of 237 nursing faculty members, students and administrators from six advanced medical colleges in China were surveyed during 2007-2008. Using a five-point Likert-type scale, the respondents identified their level of agreement with statements addressing the components of clinical nursing faculty competence. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the inventory.

RESULTS

Students and faculty members valued aspects of clinical nursing faculty competence differently. Exploratory factor analysis using varimax rotation determined construct validity of the inventory and 26 items were retained. Five important categories of clinical nursing faculty competence were revealed: leadership ability, problem solving ability, educational intelligence, general teaching ability and clinical nursing skills. The Cronbach's alpha level of the inventory was 0·91, with each domain ranging from 0·61 to 0·85.

CONCLUSION

The inventory has good psychometric properties and can be used in training and evaluation of clinical nursing faculty.

Evaluation of mentorship programme in nursing education: a pilot study in Turkey

Mentorships increase the students' confidence, help ease the difficulties associated with their new environment and reality, increase self-esteem and help socialize students into the nursing role. The main objective of the programme was to support mentee students in facilitating their transition to the university and nursing. This descriptive, exploratory study was designed using Maslow's hierarchy of needs and a pre/post test Rotter's locus of control. Sixty-two (62) first-year students and fifty-eight (58) fourth-year students were eligible to be in the mentoring programme. Mentors and mentees contacted each other weekly as required to provide information and support. Nursing lecturers were available to support the mentors for regular contact over the 13 weeks of the programme. The data were collected by questionnaire for the first-year and fourth-year students. In addition, in order to determine the efficacy of the mentoring programme, Rotter's Locus of Control Scale was administered to first-year students both at the beginning and the end of the study. The majority of first-year students stated that they benefited from the programme. It was established that the mentoring programme influenced the locus of control positively. The mentoring programme may be used to improve the adaptation of nursing students to both the university and nursing profession.

Mentoring medical students during clinical courses: a way to enhance professional development

BACKGROUND

Mentoring is known to develop professional attributes and facilitate socialization into a profession. Only a few structured mentoring programmes for medical students have been reported in the literature.

AIM

The objective of this study was to investigate undergraduate medical students' experiences and perceptions of one-to-one mentoring and whether they felt that the mentorship promoted their personal and professional development.

METHODS

Medical students (n = 118) during their third and fourth years of their studies were offered a personal mentor for 2 years and followed up via a questionnaire when the mentoring programme was completed. Statistical software was used to compute data. Open-ended questions were analyzed by content analysis.

RESULTS

Most of the respondents experienced that the mentoring programme had facilitated their professional and personal development. The role of the mentor was experienced as being more supportive than supplying knowledge. The students appreciated talking to a faculty not connected with their courses. The few barriers to a successful mentorship were mainly related to timing logistics and 'personal chemistry'.

CONCLUSIONS

One-to-one mentoring during clinical courses seems to enhance the medical student's professional and personal development. Future studies are needed to get a deeper understanding and knowledge about factors of importance for successful mentorship.

Determining problems experienced by student nurses in their work with clinical educators in Turkey

Clinical education is considered an indispensable and vital part of nursing education. Educators have an important role in the successful completion of a student's clinical education. The clinical educator's approach, experience and knowledge have an influence on the students. Students encounter certain problems during their clinical practice under the supervision of educators. This study was conducted to determine the nature of the problems student nurses encounter during clinical training in Turkey. The focus-group interviews were used for this study. Three groups of 8, a total group of 24, composed of students completing their third year were included in the interviews. The students in this study had completed their practical training in the departments of internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry and public health. Among the problems mostly encountered by students, as established by the study, were inadequate assessment by the clinical educator, judgment, negative feedback, communication problems, inadequate guidance and overload. At the end of the research, recommendations were that educators should offer information in the direction of student expectations, increase their positive feedback and lighten the academic workload of these students.

New Graduate Nurses' Perceptions of Mentoring: six-year programme evaluation

AIM

This paper reports data from an evaluation study to determine whether new graduate nurses: (1) were satisfactorily matched with mentors; (2) received guidance and support; (3) attained socialization into the nursing profession; (4) benefited from having a role model for acquisition of professional behaviours; (5) maintained contact with mentors; and (6) were satisfied with the mentorship.

BACKGROUND

The literature indicates that mentorship facilitates transition of new graduate nurses into the workplace and social culture of the organization. In addition, mentoring increases staff retention by decreasing stress and promoting positive self-esteem and confidence.

METHODS

Data were generated from participant responses to survey items about mentoring from 1999 to 2005. Item responses were summarized with descriptive statistics, and then logistic regression was performed to see whether demographic variables predicted successful programme outcomes. In addition, content analysis was performed on respondents' comments on survey items.

RESULTS

For participants who met with their mentors on a regular basis (54%), the mentor provided guidance and support for more than 90% and facilitated stress reduction for the majority. On the other hand, comments raised several concerns that apparently contributed to lack of connection between mentor and mentee. These included possible lack of commitment and time, and scheduling constraints of mentor and mentee. Inadequacy of both mentor and mentee in their roles was also apparent, especially in relation to socialization/career advice. Diversity of new graduates, including educational level, age and choice of nursing unit, were shown to add or decrease stress and influence the mentoring relationship.

CONCLUSION

A successful relationship between mentor and resident-mentee requires adequate time for the connection to grow through face-to-face meetings on a regular basis. Obstacles to meeting regularly and adequate role training of both mentors and mentees must be addressed in mentorship programmes for new graduate nurses.

Student evaluations of a year-long mentorship program: a quality improvement initiative

Mentoring is an important teaching-learning process in undergraduate nursing curricula. There are relatively few studies specifically evaluating nursing students' perceptions of mentorship. In the period 1999-2002, 39 students were mentored during a year-long program. This descriptive, exploratory study used a quality improvement framework informed by the Deming cycle of Plan, Do, Check and Act [Deming, W.E., 1982. Quality, Productivity and Competitive Position. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge] to evaluate the mentorship program from the students' perspective. Information was gathered through surveys, focus group discussions and interviews and analyzed to identify themes of responses. Identified themes were 'The doing of nursing', 'The thinking of nursing' and 'Being a nurse'. The study confirmed the value of mentorship in undergraduate nursing and highlighted the importance of skill competence as a basis for professional role identity by graduating students. The benefits of mentorship were derived from a long term, supportive relationship with the same registered nurse who was committed to the student's professional development.

The Nursing Extern Program

Within the present context of a shortage of nursing personnel, it seems crucial for organizations to find strategies that facilitate the transition from the student to the nurse role in order to recruit and retain caring and competent professionals. Early exposure to clinical nursing practice can (1) promote an appreciation of the organization and functioning of the clinical unit, (2) facilitate the application of knowledge and acquisition of nursing interventions, and (3) engage motivated nursing students in the learning process. L'Ordre des Infirmières et Infirmiers du Québec initiated the Nursing Extern Program (the Program) to ease the severe nursing shortage, which was expected to worsen over the summer. The Program was seen as a way for students to consolidate the learning acquired during clinical rotations. Nursing students were employed as externs over the summer period. Within the confines of the Program, nursing students had the opportunity to practice 21 nursing care activities while under the direct supervision of an expert nurse. This article describes the L'Ordre des Infirmières et Infirmiers du Québec Program and identifies the key elements of a hospital-based program. In the first 2 years of implementation, the Program retained 62% of the externs as graduates.

Wanted—committed gerontological nurse preceptors

Good gerontological nurse preceptors can help students feel comfortable working with older adults. They can also provide assistance to students in narrowing the theory-practice gap that sometimes seems to exist. Developed in this article is an understanding of preceptoring students and working with them and academic faculty to promote positive gerontological nursing experiences.

Mentoring Undergraduate Nursing Students

Academic mentoring is frequently offered as one strategy to facilitate student success, but the research evidence may be wanting. The authors present an integrative review of the data-based scholarship published between 1992 and 2002. Analysis involved synthesizing the research evidence and presenting findings within a conceptual framework. Research priorities are offered.

A collegial mentoring model for nurse educators

TOPIC

A mentoring model for nurse educators.

PURPOSE

To describe the current literature on mentoring in nursing and education and present the Collegial Mentoring Model.

SOURCES

Published literature and personal and professional experiences of nurse educators in academia.

CONCLUSIONS

Commitment to the collegial mentoring relationship can be demonstrated by making time for togetherness so outcomes beneficial to both individuals can be achieved.