Mentoring Nurse Practitioner Colleagues: Implementing an Online Program

The mentor role can help support the experienced nurse practitioner (NP) enhance a sense of belonging and commitment to the organization; however, NPs identify barriers of time, dedication, and lack of knowledge about mentoring. Current mentoring programs in Arizona are sporadic and formal training for the mentor is even more limited. In this project, an online training intervention to develop mentorship skills was provided for experienced NPs who viewed three video sessions of 20-25 minutes each. The topics (Open Communication & Accessibility; Mutual Respect & Trust; Independence & Collaboration) focused on developing key mentoring competencies identified from the literature. Participants did not report a significant increase in their mentoring skills after the video sessions, but they identified useful individual outcomes. Participants identified the need to formalize the experience with objectives for both the mentee and mentor and recommended seeking out the novice NP to build a mentoring relationship.

The project outcomes led to several recommendations. To support ongoing mentor relationships, organizations may need to push training out to their experienced NPs on the role of the mentor. Mentors who do not self-identify for remediation or training may need organizations to provide the training and not make it optional. Community and professional organizations like the Arizona Board of Nursing, Arizona Nurses Association and others could create training modules utilizing multiple platforms to reach NPs in rural and urban parts of the state. Finally, further projects are necessary to identify the most effective modalities when delivering training.