Importance of mentor-mentee relationships

Mills, J. & Mullins, a. (2008). "The California nurse mentor project: Every nurse deserves a mentor." Nursing economic$, 26(5), pp. 310-5 a. Mentoring generally and the specific program examined by the study are both identified in the title, in the first paragraph, and in a sidebar on the first page of the study.

The researchers assert in the first few paragraphs that the qualitative analysis of mentoring is necessary as a way of effectively combating and dealing with the current nursing shortage. Gauging the efficacy of mentor programs in nursing does seem to provide advantages to overcoming problems caused by shortages.

Though there are certain philosophical underpinnings to this study -- the interrelationship of human beings on a basic mentor/mentee level, the mechanisms and methods by which knowledge and experience are transferred, etc. -- they are not identified in the published study.

a. The purpose is made very explicit -- the authors state from the outset that they are determining the efficacy of the California mentoring program as a means of combating the nursing shortage.

b. As stated above, to determine the efficacy of a specific mentoring program in the field of nursing.

c. Again, the researchers feel that this is essential not directly to the medical aspects of nursing, but to the practical realities of the nursing industry today. The nursing shortage has a huge impact on the level of car that nurses are able to provide and the number of patients large institutions can handle.

d. The explanation for how mentoring can be used to overcome certain problems associated with the nursing shortage is very logical -- under-experienced nurses thrust into demanding situations due to a lack of more experienced nurses can be helped by their mentors more efficiently than in group training (i.e. classroom) situations).

a. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered in conducting this program evaluation, which is consistent with the demands of the study. Surveys and data analysis ensured that the human aspect of the issue, including reasons for remaining in the nursing industry or choosing to leave it, were tied to quantitative data that supported the qualitative findings.

b. There is no truly adequate way to measure such individual and personal things as job satisfaction and enjoyment of a mentor/mentee relationship, but this study covers all available angles quite well, providing the most accurate picture possible given the nature of the data and the phenomenon.

a. Sampling did not really occur with this study; all participants in the California mentor program participated in the survey portion, and quantitative data pertaining to the levels of nurse retention/attrition were examined for the entire state as well as for the program members. That is, the population of pertinent nurses was the sample. This makes the data as accurate as possible.

b. Again, the sample was as representative of the studied population as possible, as it basically included each individual of that population. No other sample would be possible without diminishing both the size of the sample and therefore the reliability of the data.

a. Human experience made up a large portion of the data collected; mentors and mentees alike were surveyed as to their feelings towards the mentor program and its usefulness in providing new nurses with adequate information, as well as in their feelings towards the profession of nursing before and after the program. Other data collected -- such as the rate of retention in the industry -- reflects the human experience/attitude of the individuals involved.

b. The researchers do not go into depth regarding the research strategies; qualitative data was gathered via surveys (presumably sent to institutions that were a part of the mentor program), and quantitative data was presumable gathered through government offices. These are the most efficient means of gathering the essential data for examining this phenomenon.

c. Human rights issues were not a major issue in this study; respondents were free not to return their surveys if they felt uncomfortable for any reasons, though invasion of privacy was minimal.

d. Saturation does appear to have been reached at some point, given the strength of the researchers' conclusions and the consistency of the responses. But because the sampling population was exhausted, this is fairly immaterial.

e. The methods of gathering data are not made explicit in the published study -- the source of quantitative data is not made explicit, nor are any of the survey question made available, merely the interpreted results. The study could be replicated, however, given the personnel resources to distribute, collect, and record surveys and other data, as well as access to the program members contact information (via their institutions).

a. The researchers did not make explicit their means of data analysis, but rather provided an overview of analysis techniques and goals.

b. The researchers do appear to have remained faithful to the data; their analysis is consistent with the data findings they report in mentoring proving an effective way to train and retian nurses.

c. Again, analysis methods were not made explicitly clear in this study, rendering them irreproducible.

d. The researchers do not explicitly address reliability of the data. However, the fact that that quantitative and qualitative data matched so clearly, and that the qualitative data was self-reported and subjected to little interpretation, makes the study's findings highly credible.

Auditability a. The researchers do make their thought process very clear, first by introducing the issue of mentoring and its modern need/application and detailing the program being evaluated and by continuing to tie the research to the overriding phenomenon of mentoring.

b. The research process is not documented here, but given that it did not take place over an extended period (though the program itself did), this is not hugely detrimental to the study's reliability.

Fittingness a. The findings of this study are highly applicable outside of the specific setting examined -- there is no reason to believe that similar result would not occur in other states or even countries.

b. Because of the presumably high applicability of the findings outside the study's settings, the results are also very meaningful to those outside the study. The effectiveness of mentoring has many applications outside the nursing industry as well.

c. The strategy used for analysis was not detailed, but appears to have been fairly simplistic and straightforward, without much manipulation needed to derive useful conclusions from the data.

Findings a. The context of this study is all-pervasive -- it was undertaken from the perspective of the current nursing shortage, providing directly pertinent information on mentoring to the modern context.

b. Individual, personal experiences are impossible to ascertain from the information in the study.

c. According to the researcher's reporting of the data they gathered, their findings are completely in line with what was reported by the survey's respondents.

d. The researchers made no real attempt to place the mentoring phenomenon in the context of anything already known out the subject.

Conclusions a. The entire study is careful to describe the current situation where the findings may be useful, but these are made especially explicit in the conclusion.

b. The study found, consistently with the data, that mentoring helps new nurses acclimatize to difficult situations and improves retention rates in the industry.

c. No further recommendations are made.

d. Further research is needed to broaden the implications of the study -- research into specific nursing fields and other geographical/cultural areas would both be hugely beneficial.

e. The significance of the study to the nursing field is huge; it has implications that could create a long-term shift in the way instruction I carried out, and has immediate implications in overcoming the nursing shortage.

Grossman, S. (2009). "Peering: The essence of collaborative mentoring in critical care." Dimensions of critical care nursing, 28(2), pp. 72-5.

Statement of Phenomenon of Interest a. The concept of mentoring is made explicit in the title, the abstract, and throughout the article.

b. No explanation of why a qualitative study was performed was explicitly stated, yet the human nature of the issue makes this fairly implicit.

c. The philosophical underpinnings are described in the abstract as pertaining to the way nurses interact in general, and the ongoing nature of nursing learning that should occur, and dos with mentoring.

Purpose a. There is no explicit reference to why this study needed to be conducted at this time.

b. The general explanation is that concepts regarding mentoring have been shifting, and the researcher wished to ascertain current attitudes towards the subject.

c. The researcher makes it very clear that the new information obtained is directly relevant to the practice and education of nursing.

d. The explanation is highly appropriate -- the researcher found that even less educated nurses can effectively mentor more experienced nurses in the right situations, making it clearly applicable.

Methodology a. The method used -- surveys of practicing nurses and nurse educators, as well as a literature review -- was completely compatible with the purposes of the study, which was purely qualitative.

b. This methodology is not entirely adequate, as it does not determine efficacy of mentoring in any quantitative way, but only gauges individual's attitudes and experiences.

Sampling a. No description of participants given.

b. The informants all appear to be appropriate to the study, all being engaged in the practice or training of nursing techniques and procedures, most in treatment settings.

Data Collection a. Data collection was entirely based on human experiences; only individual experiences/attitudes were recorded or used in the study.

b. Data collection strategies are not described in details, but appear to have consisted of an open questionnaires with free responses. These provide appropriate and significantly consistent results.

c. Human rights issues such as privacy are not explicitly addressed in the published study.

d. Data saturation is not described or achieved -- this was a very limited study drawn from a limited pool of informants.

e. Explicit procedures are not detailed in the published study, making the findings impossible to fully replicate. Other qualitative questionnaires that attempt to measure the same phenomenon could be developed, however, in an attempt to verify this study's findings.

Interviews

Interviews were not conducted as part of this study.

Data Analysis a. Data analysis in this study consisted solely of analyzing open-ended responses given by nurse practitioners and students after a forty-two hour rotation given their experiences with and attitude towards mentoring.

b. The researcher reports findings completely in line with the reported responses.