Mentorship has emerged as one of the most important aspects towards enhancing staff retention in the healthcare environment. This paper examines the need for developing a mentor program for Northwell health system. Northwell health system is currently facing challenges with regards to staff retention, patient care delivery, and patient outcomes. The current situation at Northwell health system requires the establishment of a suitable program towards improving staff retention and ultimately enhancing patient outcomes. The paper provides a discussion of the current situation at the health system and how a mentor program could help improve patient outcomes and patient satisfaction. The evaluation of the need for the training program is carried out from a human resource perspective because of the link between mentorship and staff welfare and development. Training Need at Northwell Health System

The modern healthcare environment is characterized by the increased need for nurse retention given the prevalence of nursing shortage. Northwell health system faces the need to hire and retain nurses as part of measures to enhance patient safety and patient outcomes. One of the most important measures that has been found crucial towards enhancing retention of nurses within a healthcare facility or system is establishing a mentorship program. Mentor program help in improving the knowledge, skills, and abilities of novice nurses, which in turn contributes to enhance patient care deliver practices, improved patient outcomes, and better retention of nurses. In light of the current circumstances at Northwell health system, the creation of a mentoring program is a major training need towards enhancing nurse retention and enhancing patient care delivery processes.

According to Wagner & Seymour (2007), mentoring is an empowering relationship between experienced nurses and novice nurses towards enriching clinical practice and nurturing an individual holistically. Mentoring basically creates a learning relationship through which novice nurses are empowered to become proficient and competent in their daily operations in a healthcare facility or organization. The improved clinical practice from mentorship in the healthcare setting is attributable to the fact that the program incorporates formal and informal approaches towards guiding, teaching, and supporting novice nurses. The other aspects of mentoring that results in enhanced clinical practice by novice nurses include role modeling, coaching, recruitment and retention of highly qualified nurse professionals. Such policies and practices will play a crucial role towards reducing staff turnover at Northwell health system, which is associated with high operational costs and negative impacts on patient care, patient satisfaction, and patient outcomes.
A mentor program will be crucial towards addressing these challenges at Northwell health system. The mentor program should be established as part of the human resource policies and practices at the system. The program should be geared towards establishing a framework through which nurses obtain personal and career guidance within and outside the clinical setting. Such guidance will help in lessening turnover and enhancing patient care delivery process, which will in turn contribute to enhanced patient outcomes.

Background Information

As previously mentioned, mentoring is the creation of a learning relationship between an experienced and novice nurse towards enhancing clinical practice. Novice nurses need personal and career guidance when making transitions from the learning environment (Jones, 2016). One of the role of mentors in enhancing clinical practice is to help novice nurses to have smooth transitions from the learning environment to the clinical setting. During this process, mentors help novice nurses to acquaint themselves with the various aspects of the healthcare setting and system in order to improve patient care practices. The process entails conducting orientation through which new nurses learn about the daily operations of the healthcare system or clinical setting. Additionally, new nurses receive training on their respective roles in the clinical setting and what is expected of them vis-a-vis patient care delivery processes. Orientation is an important task of mentors since the mentor program at Northwell health system will be targeted towards…