Mentorship is so important for mentees and mentors. While it creates an opportunity for mentors to give back, it’s also a reminder that a lot can be learned from others. In recognition of National Mentoring Month, let’s look at how nursing mentors work to create a better future in healthcare.
While mentorship programs exist within the teaching, research, and administration sectors, a mentor who trains nursing students in patient-care settings is called a preceptor.
“Preceptors live at the intersections of education and practice, and of the present and the future. They practice at the point where theoretical learning meets reality and where the gap between current and needed knowledge and expertise gets filled,” Beth Tamplet Ulrich wrote in “Mastering Precepting: A Nurse’s Handbook for Success.”
She said, “Preceptors are the essential link between what nurses are taught and what they do, and between what nurses know and what they need to know.”
As Registered Nurses, preceptors are leaders and influencers because they demonstrate the five values that epitomize a caring professional nurse, as defined by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN):
- A concern for the welfare of others (altruism)
- The right to self-determination (autonomy)
- Respect for others (human dignity)
- Practice in accordance with ethics and standards (integrity)
- Fair treatment for all (social justice)
In addition, precepting’s benefits to new nurses include those normally found in any good mentorship experience, giving students the opportunity to:
- Develop skills and confidence
- Engage in ongoing learning and relationship-building
- Practice multidisciplinary collaboration and engagement
- Learn from the support, guidance, and experience that can only come from a more seasoned professional
- Learn best practices in real-life situations
- Reduce the stress of high-pressure situations, leading to less burnout
A two-way learning experience that leads to better health outcomes
One generation passes to the next a world of expertise and experience, and the practice reinvigorates as it continues through the years. It all leads to higher quality care, an improved patient-provider relationship, and better health outcomes. Moreover, the confidence and experience gained help nurses learn how to manage the stress of a high-pressure field. That leads to better engagement and support and less burnout and turnover.
What’s often overlooked is the value of precepting to those teaching.
“Precepting is different than standing and giving a lecture, it keeps you fresh and on your toes,” said Lieba Savitt, NP-C, the Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Manager at the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Gastrointestinal and Oncologic Surgery and the Senior APP at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Pelvic Floor Disorders. “It prevents me from getting into a rut in my day-to-day work. When I’m with a student, they’re asking questions that challenge me to think about things differently and question things that maybe I hadn’t before.”
Preparing future generations
“I want to give back to my profession and specifically the school that I went to (MGH Institute of Health Professions). I want to do what I can to help provide students with valuable clinical experience and the opportunity to learn and advance in their future profession,” said Michelle Quirck, NP, preceptor of students throughout her nine-year tenure at Massachusetts Hospital’s Bullfinch Medical Group.
“Students need quality, in-person, hands-on training to develop and cement their skills,” says Diane Hazel, CPNP-PC at the Mass General Brigham Community Physicians practice. Her hope is that the students she prepares will one day be in her shoes. Says Diane, “I want to retire one day knowing there are talented NPs behind me. It feels good to play a role in making that possible.”
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