Using alumni to mentor nursing students at risk

Strategies for retention of nursing students: A scoping review

Retention of students in nursing programs is a costly concern that affects the supply and demand of nurses to the healthcare system. Successful retention strategies require consideration of social and academic institutional systems with attention to student integration in a program. This systematic review explores implemented retention strategies in nursing programs worldwide and provides guidance for nursing programs and researchers considering the retention question. Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methods informed this review. CINAHL, ERIC, PsychINFO, and MEDLINE, databases were searched from January 1998 to December 2019. Data was extracted from 112 full text papers and dissertations. Papers were of varying quality and inconsistently evaluated, usually lacking theoretical grounding. Student participants in strategies were preselected by racial minority status or through various markers of academic performance. Retention strategies described in the literature are single program and multifactorial, with mentorship, study skills, literacy and language approaches, and tutoring the most common components. Reports of graduation rates or attrition rates through comparison with a pre-strategy time period or a comparison group were the most informative evaluations. Whole-program strategies that provided pathway options to students based on reading assessments or other academic criteria were the most comprehensive and effective strategies presented in the literature.

Mentoring experiences of psychiatric nurses: from acquaintance to affirmation

Mentoring is regarded as involving a voluntary and mutually beneficial relationship in which one person is experienced and knowledgeable (mentor) who supports the maturation of a less-experienced person (mentee). While there have been studies on mentorship in a wide range of areas within nursing, so far studies on psychiatric nursing are scarce. The hallmark of psychiatric nursing is the use of interpersonal process as a means of bringing about positive health changes in the clients. If psychiatric nurses are involved in mentorship, they can, through experiential learning, be nurtured to use interpersonal process as therapeutic tools in their work more effectively. This study examines the mentorship experiences of psychiatric nurses. Personal accounts of 27 psychiatric nurses were analyzed using qualitative methodology. Results of the study shed light on the role of mentorship in facilitating the socialization of psychiatric nurses and revealed the main aspects involved in this process. Four themes experienced by mentees during the mentoring process are the key to its success. These are: becoming acquaintances, developing bond, feeling being included and obtaining affirmation. These themes were found to be progressive in terms of mentees' degree of connection with their mentors and their involvement in the nursing profession.

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.

Using the personal background preparation survey to identify health science professions students at risk for adverse academic events

In the first predictive validity study of a diagnostic and prescriptive instrument for averting adverse academic status events (AASE) among multiple populations of diverse health science professions students, entering matriculates' personal background and preparation survey (PBPS) scores consistently significantly predicted 1st- or 2nd-year AASE. During 1st-year orientations, 441 entering matriculates in four southwestern schools from dental, medical, and nursing disciplines completed the 2004 PBPS. The following year during 1st-year orientations, 526 entering matriculates in five schools from dental, medical, nursing, and biomedical science disciplines completed the 2005 PBPS. The PBPS identifies and quantifies a student's noncognitive and cognitive academic performance risks. One standard deviation increments in PBPS risks consistently multiplied 1st- or 2nd-year AASE odds by approximately 140% (p < .05), controlling for underrepresented minority student (URMS) status and school affiliation. Odds of 2nd-year AASE for URMS one standard deviation above the 2004 PBPS mean reached 494% of odds for nonURMS at the mean. PBPS total risks, school affiliation, and URMS status together provided 70-76% correct predictions of 1st- or 2nd-year AASE. PBPS predictive validity did not differ significantly among dental, medical, nursing, or biomedical science schools, or URMS/nonURMS. PBPS sensitivity and specificity approached those for FDA-approved screening mammograms for breast cancer and PSA tests for prostate cancer. PBPS positive predictive values of 42-60% exceeded those for both. The diagnostic and prescriptive PBPS can facilitate proactive targeting of corrective interventions aimed at reducing AASE and attrition among health science education students at risk for academic difficulties.

Mentoring in Health Sciences Education: A Review of the Literature

Mentoring is a concept that has been around for many years, but has only gained popularity in health science education programs over the past 20 years. Nursing, in particular, has recognized the short- and long-term benefits of mentoring students. The primary benefits are career and psychosocial development, which enables students to be successful in their educational programs. Mentoring also assists with easing the transition from student to graduate in a shorter period. In this literature review, the authors examined mentoring programs from nursing, medical school, pharmacy, and occupational therapy educational programs. Each of these health science programs reported favourable outcomes for their students involved in mentoring relationships, such as decreased stress and anxiety about their education, increased feelings of belonging to their programs and professions, and increased self-confidence and self-esteem. These studies help to confirm that mentoring can have a dramatic influence on the success and retention of students enrolled in health science programs. Unfortunately, no recent literature is available that specifically addresses mentoring practices in the medical radiation sciences. This article will attempt to show that results from current research in other health science educational programs could be used in forming medical radiation sciences mentoring programs. Developing these programs could have the same positive effects on recruitment and retention as they have in related disciplines.

Modeling Mentorship and Collaboration for BSN and MSN Students in a Community Clinical Practicum

This project uses an innovative approach to facilitate mentorship and collaboration among BSN and MSN students within a community health practice environment. In a pilot test using a clinical model, graduate and undergraduate students were matched as mentors and mentees. These students worked with faculty and clinic staff to develop a mentorship network and effective collaborative practice within an interdisciplinary team, while implementing health promotion education programs for clinic clients. Ten students participated in the process and evaluated it as effective and valuable in the development of professional roles, as well as in validating the model variables used in the project.

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.