Mentorship In Practice Essay Samples

Learning Outcome 1

Facilitation of Learning
Flexibility is one of the characteristics of being a mentor. According to the Human Rights Resource Center (n.d.), a facilitator should know when to modify his or her ways of mentoring, depending on the need of individuals and groups.

Learning Styles- Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic

The student learns more through the visual and auditory styles in the pretest but when the post test was given, it was revealed that the student was a visual learner. The student realised that when they learn about graphical representations, pictures and tables are needed so that they can understand the lesson better.
Having only one learning style may affect the learning of the student since it limits the style when a student can acquire skills and knowledge. However, utilising a teaching strategy with the preferred learning style of the student will make them learn quickly and easily (Robertson, Smellie, Wilson et al. 2011).
Yes, the learning style does matter since this is what makes the student learn more quickly and easily (Robertson et al. 2011). Changing the teaching style to accommodate the diverse learning styles of students will make the teacher realise the innovation they need in teaching (Montgomery and Groat 1998).

Learning Theories

Behavioural Learning
I can still recall when my mentor asked me to help her in administering drugs or medication to the patients. She commended me for being attentive at all times.
Through positive feedback, students can increase their effort, especially if they know that a task is challenging. It also motivates them to know that they are able to do the task properly (Hattie and Timperley 2007).

Cognitive Learning

Pedagogy vs. Andragogy
The difference between pedagogy and andragogy is that pedagogy focuses more on the teacher’s guidance to help students obtain learning inside the classroom while andragogy focuses more on the learner’s responsibility to learn on their own (Holmes and Abington-Cooper 2000).
I suppose a midway approach for pedagogy and andragogy would be the best approach. Since students are enrolled in mentorship programs, this means that there are still skills that they have to develop; thus, pedagogy or a teacher-centred class will be utilized. When the students are already able to demonstrate the skills they have learned, that is when andragogy will be employed.
When a mentor puts pedagogy and andragogy together, there is a better chance of knowledge being transferred to students, enabling them to become self-directed and self- motivated.
As a mentor, it is important to have both in teaching -- explain it to the students, demonstrate, reinforce, and evaluate.

Teaching a Skill

Having read the 8 rights for medication administration, active learning or participatory learning is needed. As a mentor, I have to explain and demonstrate to the student how medication administration is conducted. Simulation is important in medication administration so that the students will feel as if they are in a real situation.
The characteristics provided for assessment are very true when it comes to assessing whether the student has learned and if the teacher has helped in the learning acquisition. The e assessment’s big impact on the students involve the points they gained for their improvement, as well as the self-reflection, self-assessment, and the discovery of skills that they should focus on.

Bias in Assessment

When I was also a student, I found nervousness to be one of the things that may affect the assessment of the assessor as well as how I answer the questions about the skill to be assessed. There was this time that I failed to include the contraindication of the medicine to be administered. As such, the assessor told me about it

Written Assessment of Students

The domains below were taken from the Nursing & Midwifery Council (n.d.) for the preregistration of the Adult Learning of nurses and midwives.

Domain 1

Professional values, which mean that all nurses should act foremost to care for individuals.
Domain 2
Communication and interpersonal skills underscore the nurses’ personality as being respectful.
Domain 3
Nursing practice and decision-making mean that all nurses must practise emphatically, skillfully, in maintaining the patients’ health and well-being.
Domain 4
Leadership and team-working explain that nurses should be professionally accountable for promoting the standards of healthcare.
Learning Outcome 2
Learning and Teaching in the Clinical Area
Reflection of Experience of Learning
My recent experience was about a course in geriatric medicine, which includes trainings for the methods of taking care of the elderly with utmost care and respect. It helped me develop a positive attitude towards my students.
It is quite easy for me to be updated with the current trends and innovations in the clinical field, since I’m very willing to discover things that will help me provide more leaning to my students.
My views in learning in a learning environment are essential. I believe that they can help make the ward less threatening to my students, making it conducive for acquiring learning experiences.

SWOT Analysis of the Learning Environment

Strengths
Practices are consistent with written protocols, policies, and unit philosophy
Weaknesses
Other nurses are not immediately available to address some of the students’ concerns
Opportunity.
Since there is a sufficient supervision for learners, one-on-one mentoring is possible, enabling students to learn more.
Threat
Not being able to give constructive feedback immediately will prevent the students from fully understanding the clinical procedures explained by the mentor

Orientation of the Students

As a mentor, I will always keep in my mind that I should always conduct myself with professionalism and that I should not to get too personal if I do not feel comfortable with the student. This will help me maintain a professional mentor-student relationship.
Assessments should be taken as a valuable view from the mentor. Lam (1995, as cited in Suskie n.d.), said that a fair assessment is one in which students are given equitable opportunities to demonstrate what they have learned
Diversity of attitude and values should be promoted. Unwanted discrimination is presented in a nursing mentorship class; hence, being affected by attitudes that one personally does not like will turn out to be discriminating to other students (Bednarz, Schim, and Doorenbos 2010).

Own Experience Being Mentored as a Student Nurse

My mentors during my placement time had good communication skills. They were also very willing to help me whenever they can.
Since my mentors were very accommodating, it added to the facilitation of an effective relationship between me and them. I felt comfortable with them. According to Kapustin and Murphy (2008), the best mentors are good communicators and are approachable. They are always happy to work with new mentees.
Though most of them were good to me, I had one mentor who did not give me any constructive feedback. Somehow I found it offensive, and I did not have a very good student-mentor relationship with him.

Differences in Approach

Having experienced a variety of mentoring styles during my mentoring program when I was still a student, I can say that most of the approaches or styles used by my mentors contributed to my learning. In particular, they employed the following mentoring styles: one- to- one, peer, and group mentoring. The one-to-one mentoring is important when the mentor observes that the student should have their own pace in learning. Peer mentoring is done to make students feel comfortable with their classmates while learning. On the other hand, group mentoring is also a good approach since it lets the students socialise with one another while learning. These approaches will really aid in the mentoring relationship of each and every one of the students and teachers under the mentoring program (Timmons, Mack, Sims et al. 2006)

Mentor Effectiveness

In the articles read, six positive outcomes were provided, namely the following: (1) collegiality, collaboration, networking, sharing of ideas and knowledge; (2) professional development; (3) reflection; (4) personal satisfaction, reward or growth; and (5) enjoyment, stimulation or challenge (Eps, Cooke, Creedy et al. 2006).
The following are subthemes for the results and findings obtained from the articles with regards to mentor effectiveness. The first is that mentors should have a positive attitude on the program as this will enhance the students’ learning outcomes. Mentors should know first how the mentoring program will hone the development of these future nurses. The next subtheme is time and resources, which mean that a mentor should know how to manage their time and attention between their patients’ and their students’ needs. There may be instances when the mentor should spend time with the patients but cannot leave the mentees, especially if they have concerns about their activities or outputs. There may also be instances when the mentor is not able to talk to the mentees because he or she is busy with his or her professional responsibilities with patients. This may cause some problems as it poses a lack of time in both the mentor’s professional and mentoring fields.
Personal and professional growth is also seen as one of the important components for mentor effectiveness. Mentees see their mentors as paragons of knowledge and experiences; hence, it is the mentors’ responsibility to make themselves professionally advanced by enrolling in other courses that will enhance their knowledge or by attending seminars, which are related to their field. They can then relate the knowledge they gain from these to their mentees, in turn enriching their mentees’ learning experiences. The interpersonal skills of the mentor are also important since they deal with both patients and students. It is a critical component in mentorship because the mentors deal with a lot of people, and these skills contribute to how well they interact with others. This will also ease the tense and distressing times in their field. If the mentor helps the mentees develop their interpersonal skills, then the mentees will be able to easily perform and complete their activities within and outside the mentorship program.
Mentees also seek time from their mentors. Concerns will arise during the mentoring program, and the mentor’s ability to set aside time to deal with these problems and concerns will make the mentees feel that they are an important part of the class or group. These are the things that students consider in mentor effectiveness during their mentoring program.

Feedback in Mentorship

Feedback is very important in helping students understand their strengths and weaknesses and how they can improve. In their induction booklet, there is a section for the daily feedback they receive while undergoing the mentorship program.

Giving Feedback

An informal meeting with the said student will be held to talk about her behaviour in the clinical area. I will first provide her with the positive comments in order to soften the situation. Afterwards, I will relay to her that it is important to have a professional attitude.

Evaluating Students in Achieving Learning Outcomes

Evaluation is a very important aspect of gauging the achievement of students’ learning outcomes. It is always better for the mentor to first observe the student and take note of the skills that the student possesses (Hand 2006). After these have been observed and noted down, the mentor may have a private meeting with the student so that the student will know what they should improve on and what they should continue to do. After conducting the observation, the mentor can interview or have a discussion with the mentee in order for him or her to assess the skills that the mentee needs to practice more with the mentor. Lastly, the mentor should have a reflective discussion with the mentee on what they have learned and if they think they need to learn more about a particular skill.

Learning Outcomes 3

Underachieving Student Behaviours
My mentor and I had a discussion on the behaviours of students who are considered underachievers; however, she said that most of them exhibit these behaviours in different ways. The list provided by Duffy and Hardicre (2007) was a helpful tool in identifying these underachiever behaviors.
My mentor explained these behaviors by providing examples. She said that she once had a student who was over confident. From the list of Duffy and Hardicre (2007), the behavior exhibited by this student was that of being ‘dismissive of learning opportunities’. This is an underachiever behavior because having a dismissive attitude towards opportunities for learning hinders the learning of the student. Instead of making themselves better, they just want to stick to the practices that they already know, but which are often inappropriate. My mentor cited a time when the student made his own decision of administering an alternative medicine on a patient. Without asking the permission of the mentor, the student almost gave the wrong medicine to the patient. It was a good thing that the mentor was paying attention to all of the student’s actions, enabling her to prevent the administration of the wrong medicine.
Having this kind of attitude is the same as having ‘poor interpersonal skills’ which leads to being insensitive when interacting and communicating with clients or patients. If they don’t learn the right practices then they will cause pain and prolonged suffering on the patients. This will lead also lead to unsafe practices or judgments since the student does not want to listen to the mentor. As a result, the student may administer the wrong dosage of medicine on a patient even if they are under the supervision of their mentor. Furthermore, my mentor said that there were times when this student avoided my mentor because he did not want my mentor telling him what to do. He was overconfident with what he knew. Because he refused to accept feedback from his mentor, there was even an instance when the student was asked to give the patient medicine under the supervision of the mentor. However, the student did not listen when the mentor said that the dosage of the medicine was different for each patient. It was just good that my mentor was able to correct the student before he gave the medicine to the patients. My mentor told him that it was important that he listened to her before he performed a task. This way, my mentor was able to train him on how to listen to people who knew better than him, in turn enabling him to correct his practices. The student shrugged and seldom talked to my mentor after the incident.
My mentor also remembered another student who was so shy and timid during the mentorship program. According to Duffy and Hardicre (2007), this attitude shows a ‘high level of anxiety’. The student lacks the confidence or initiative to ask the mentor about whether or not she is doing a task correctly. There was also a time when the student did not have any initiative, that is, she wouldn’t do something unless she was asked to do it. The student was always alone and seldom talks. She just nods to give an affirmative answer. However, this is not the appropriate way of communicating, especially when one is in the mentorship program.

Providing Feedback

Feedback is very important. After each round of mentorship or after teaching the students new skills, I write feedback in their induction kits. Feedback allows a mentor to get to know their mentees and to motivate their mentees to work on their weaknesses.
Feedbacks should be given immediately. According to Duffy and Hardicre (2007) the following are the things that feedback can do for a student: (1) correct errors; (2) develop comprehension through explanation; (3) produce more learning through the recommendation of other specific tasks; (4) support the development of basic skills; (5) foster reflection and consciousness of the learning process involved; (6) urge students to study better; and (7) reduce the feeling of helplessness.
Effective feedback should be given under these conditions: (1) feedback should be given as soon as possible; (2) there should be enough time, full attention, and privacy; (3) the mentor should support the self-assessment of the student; (4) if possible, feedback should be provided in written form; (5) the feedback should be constructive; (6) it should be objective by nature; (7) it should be detailed and precise; (7) it should have open-ended question to leave room for comments; (8) it should allow for the clarification of questions; (9) the mentor should make sure that the students know what they should do; (10) students should understand that other staff may be involved; (11) the students and mentor should develop an agreed action plan whenever possible. As a mentor, it is really important that they set aside time for giving the students individual feedback. It is never a good idea to provide feedback in a group setting as it may make some of the students feel humiliated. The mentor should also always support their feedback and assessment with written and well-recorded evidence so that the student will not think that the mentor is being biased. It is very important as well that the mentor answers the students’ questions about the result of their assessment so that everything will be clear to the students.
As the discussion went on, my mentor said that the students should be properly monitored so that the mentors can guide them accordingly and so that the students can achieve their goals. The mentor should not allow a student to finish this program without developing the necessary skills and competencies.
The decision to fail a student is such a heavy burden on the shoulder of the mentor. A study by Milner and O’ Bryne explained that emotional issues may result from failing a student and it may also lead to unpleasant feelings (Duffy and Hardicre 2007).
As Milne and O’Bryne said (as cited in Duffy and Hardicre 2007), a mentor will always wonder about the consequences of their actions. It is in their hands whether a student passes or fails. One thing that may get in the way of a mentor giving their final assessment for a student is their relationship with the student. In this regard, it is always expected that the mentor maintains a professional relationship with the students; however, it cannot be helped that there are times when the mentor becomes friendly with the students in order to ease their nervousness in the placement area. This friendly relationship will affect the mentor’s final assessment of the student because the mentor may feel pity towards the student.
As a mentor, we should always keep in mind that allowing the students to finish the mentorship program and to pass even when they have not met the requirements will make them unprepared for when they eventually join the workforce. Hence, we should always remain rational when providing the final assessment for them. If they fail, they can always go through the program again. This is preferable to having them make mistakes in the real world with real patients.

The Consequence of Failing

I always have to reflect on myself when deciding whether to fail a student or not. I will ask myself what I could do to save him from failing. It is always difficult on the part of the mentor to fail students. If I have already done everything in my power to help him, the only thing I can do at this point is to advise them on what they should focus on in the future in order for them to do better . Regardless of this, though, I am sure that I will still feel bad about it.

Failing to Fail

Most mentors mentioned that failing students is both time-consuming and emotionally draining (Gainsbury 2010). It is so difficult to make such a decision because failing students will have an undesirable effect on the university. Personally, I would not let a student pass if I know that he is not competent enough. Everything is at stake when I let that happen.

Summary of Learning Outcome 3

This learning outcome has provided me with ideas on how to help an underachieving student, how to handle the failing of students, and how to choose whether to pass or fail a failing student. It helped me develop my ideal principles, which become my bases for failing or passing mentees.

Activity 4

Sharp and Danbury (1999) stressed that a clear and well-evidenced report of grades should always be present that will allow fair judgment of the students’ performance. In addition, NMC explained that documentation should be factual, non-bias, determines strengths and weaknesses of the student with examples whenever possible. The feedback session should also be properly documented with constructive feedbacks about their performance (Sharp and Danbury 1999). To ease the weight of judging students’ performance, other staff may be present to oversee as well the performance of students to ensure objectivity and to show fairness of giving evaluation. There may be mistakes that a mentor can tolerate and still manage to correct; however, there are grave mistakes that need also serious actions.
the mentors also experienced doubts in failing students. They always think if they are doing is. Mentors needed support from other colleagues when they have to fail because it will leave them feeling frustrated and angry.
In the study of Luhanga, Larocque, MacEwan, Gwekrere, and Danyluk (2014, p. 5), found out themes that are important to consider when failing a student which are as follows: failing a student is a difficult process; both academic and emotional support are required for students and field instructors, preceptors, faculty advisers; students failure in a placement has consequences for programs, faculty members, and students; personal, professional and structural reasons exist for failing to fail a student; and reputation of professional program.

Learning Outcomes 4

Consider the Term ‘evidence-based practice’
“Evidence-based practice” is an important facet of healthcare. It provides updated and appropriate care for patients from research-based results. As a healthcare provider, this kind of practice will lessen the occurrence of unwanted incidents in hospitals. The goal of evidence-based practice is the combination of the clinical expertise, external scientific evidence, and client/patient/caregiver attitude or values, as well as the needs and choices of the people we serve. This provides abundant sources for the betterment of the services given to patients. With evidence-based practice, it is ensured that the care provided to patients is well-researched and come from well-established truths that are proven to alleviate the patients’ feelings of difficulty.

Reflect on your own pre-registration programme

When I was still studying, we were urged to conduct researches on the trends in healthcare. The skills I have accrued while doing these researches helped me now. I became very inquisitive on the new trends in healthcare, in turn giving me an edge from my colleagues. This attitude made me very skeptical of the things I am supposed to do with my patients. I don’t always do as I am told; rather, I first weigh my choices. It is always my number one rule to make sure that I am giving the most suitable care for my patients. To do that, I should first consult peer reviewed journals or researches. Thus, my professors are confident even before I graduated that they were able to instill in me the attitude of being discerning at all times.

Using evidence-based material in the workplace

The accessibility of evidence-based material is essential for nurses as it will give them the confirmation that what they are doing is right. These materials can be seen in the data bases that are provided by the senior staff that have undergone trainings in evidence-based practices. Utilising these researches will provide us with better practices for patient care. Using these evidence-based materials to reduce issues of safety when it comes to patient care, medicine administration, surgery and other health care services that are usually performed on patients is a critical part in the health care sector. To successfully carry out evidence-based practices from evidence based-materials, nurses, doctors, microsystem and microsystem leaders, and policy makers should adopt them. A system within an organisation should fully support its healthcare providers not only in providing materials with evidence based-practices, but they should also be willing to let their doctors and nurses attend seminars and trainings that underscore evidence-based practices. These will enhance their ability to provide the best for their clients. Aside from that, the administrators of a health care firm should set aside a budget for nurses and doctors who are willing to conduct researches for the betterment of the health care services provided by their hospitals.

Reflect on what has been said about evidence-based practice

I agree with Sackett et al. (1991), that there are EBPs done without conclusive evidences. To address this problem, one should be able to do a research about it and present and prove that the EBP practiced by clinicians are indeed effective. Litigations against clinicians are possible if they are not careful enough in using practices that are not proven by a thorough experimentation. Evidence-based practices are utilised to improve care efficiency and increase the effectiveness and timeliness of healthcare. Moreover, it is done to enhance health care delivery programs and to improve spur performance in a health care firm. Evidence-based practices aim to make health care consist more of patient-centred programs as these programs and their enhancements are mostly intended for the patients’ benefit.

Locating Sources for EBP

I saw an article on the Self administration of medicines by inpatients by Syed Haris Ahmed, Preeti Chiran, and Paula Chattington, It was published in the Clinical Medicine Journal in 2013 in Vol. 13, issue No. 4, pages 419-420. Its doi is 10.7861 and is retrieved from http://www.clinmed.rcpjournal.org/content/13/4/419.full.

Reviewing the Literature

In my view about the publications presented, mentors view mentorship positively; however, they find it difficult to fail failing students. On the student’s part, it is just right that mentors fail undeserving students as long as the mentor is competent and knowledgeable. Not failing students because of the mentor’s attachment to the student will become a problem in the future since they are allowing students who have not mastered the necessary skills to join the workforce. In this case, the mentors will always be liable for the shortcomings of the students.

Comparing and Contrasting Evidence-based with practice

The main theme which emerged from my own practice was that there is no model of mentorship appropriate to all students; hence, different models of mentorship should be employed to ensure the learning of the student. It is difficult to follow one model of mentorship for all the students who are put in placement as this may result in a threatening environment for students who cannot learn in the model being employed. Students may not develop their abilities and knowledge if some of them are not compatible with the mentorship model being used. Moreover, the uneven distribution of attention among the students will become prevalent since not all them have the same level of understanding for the activities that are being taught to them.

Review these publications

Discussion Forum
I can employ EBP in mentorship whenever I explain a practice to them and emphasize that it was proven by a well-established research and that they should make it a habit to anchor their practices on such researches.

Learning Outcomes 5

SWOT Analysis
Strengths- Enthusiasm in working with the students
Competence in the field
Flexible
Reliable
Weakness- Still needs to learn more skills
Feels very kind to the students at times
Opportunity- Very much open to constructive criticisms
Threat- Lack of time management in the ward
Able as a Mentor
Being always available for the student is a big help for the programme in terms of getting more registrants. Being able to answer the students’ inquiries will augment their learning. This also makes the learning of the students worthwhile since they know that they are taken care of by their mentors through the time given to them. Everything that the students learned came from the knowledge and experience that the mentors have shared with them; hence, the mentor is always accountable for whatever the students do while they are under the mentorship program. Thus, it is really better to lend an ear to each and every one of the mentees. This allows the mentor to immediately correct the mentees’ mistakes so that these may no longer be made.

Emotional Intelligence

Other mentors use strong emotions in workplace to threaten or motivate students; however, an excellent manipulation of these emotions should aid in the progression of the learners.

Assess your emotional intelligence

My emotional intelligence is 55, which is an average. This means that I am able to deal with and recognize emotions. This helps me maintain my composure in my mentorship.

Role Modeling

I remember one mentor who was very willing to undergo trainings for her professional development and who always attended charity events to broaden her circle of colleagues. On the other hand, I am also willing to pursue researches that will really help the establishment of evidence-based practices.

Professional Relationships and Multi-Disciplinary Team Working

An array of different knowledge from different healthcare practitioners will help the students acquire more learning. The expertise of other practitioners is a valuable piece of knowledge for the students.

Leadership and Change Management

In the journals provided, it was shown that the positive relationship of the mentors to the students promote good patient outcomes. Transformational leadership style is in the core of the mentor having a good relationship with the mentee.

Aspects of practice you identified that would benefit from a change

I would change something in the way that students gain learning from the ward. One factor that I considered in this is that their limited experience will also make them inadequate in giving care to their future patients. Having acquired a great deal of experience will expose them to rigorous learning and training.

Being Accountable as a Mentor

According to both Sharples and Christison (as cited in Timmons et al. 2006), upholding the profession’s integrity plays a role in being a mentor since it means that the mentor should act with integrity and assess the students fairly. The following are the mentor’s obligations for which they are considered accountable: having knowledge and understanding of their accountability in every stage of the programme; encouraging professional growth; showing extensive understanding of the assessment activities; making sure that there is a meeting between them and the students; giving constructive feedback; using due process when failing students; being able to confirm whether students have met or have not met the objectives of the programme; keeping factual records for the students’ progress report(Timmons et al. 2006).
Mentors should keep in mind that they are responsible for everything that transpires during the placement program. In the same way, the students are accountable to their mentors for their actions. According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (n.d.), it is stated that students have to be supported and assessed by the mentors and that students should be directly or indirectly supervised most of the time.

Promoting self-awareness in nurses to improve nursing practice

Being able to know your knowledge, capabilities and attitude will help in the profession you have chosen. In the nursing practice, it is important to know these things so you will be able to improve your practices as a nurse. According to Burnard, caring is one of the foundations of good nursing (Jack and Smith 2007). We should care first for our self before giving to other people. From NMC, good communication skill is also important since you are nurturing someone who is suffering (Smith 2007). Burnard described that being aware of one’s self means you are also aware of controlling situations in your workplace (Jack and Smith 2007).
Self-awareness and self discovery are not attained in one sitting only; rather, it is a continuous voyage that everyone in the workplace should be able to master in order to improve the nursing practice.

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence helps a person control stress, improve cooperation and teamwork, and enhance relationships among their co-workers (Craemer n.d.).The ability of a person to work with others is highly influenced by our emotions; hence, being patient and understanding are parts of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence will also determine how far you will go and succeed in your profession. As a mentor, being a short-tempered person is not appropriate as it is your job to be very patient with your students. Furthermore, there are three emotional capacities that should be present in you – self-reflection, self-regulation and empathy (Craemer n.d.). These foundations provide the person the ability to adjust to change, sustain commitment with other people, and develop a balance in their emotional lives (Craemer. 2015, PDF. file). Being able to empathise with your co-workers will help you forge better working relationships with both your students and colleagues in the workplace. Having good emotional intelligence will also create a pleasant working environment for other people, including the patients or clients, colleagues, students, and other staff.

Assess your emotional intelligence

My emotional intelligence is 55 which is average. This means I am able to deal with and recognise emotions. This helps me maintain my composure in my mentorship. People with average emotional intelligence have the following characteristics that boost their confidence in handling situations in the workplace. Llopis (2012) provided the following: caring about people, embracing diversity to make a big difference, aiding employees in experiencing importance, being accountable and mindful of their needs.
As a mentor who deals with the diverse attitude of students, I also deal with their different needs. As a healthcare provider, I should also be sensitive to what my students need in the same way that I am sensitive to my patients’ needs.
It is very important that you show genuine care for your staff or colleagues in the workplace. If you are a leader, you should be able to differentiate the people from a herd of cattle. People have feelings, and appreciation from their superior will boost their morale and productivity. The same is true with your students. They feel safe when you care for them. There are students who can’t change when they are placed in the ward. Accepting them as they are will also aid in the development of their skills. Try to understand them since they have acquired their behaviour and culture before their mentorship program, and it is difficult to change immediately. When you praise your student of their good work, it means they have done something great. Making them feel that they made an impact during their mentorship program will make them feel significant in the group. When you are sensitive to their needs, you will be able to immediately address the skills you have to focus on. This makes the development of skills is easier and faster.

Professional Relationships and Multi-Disciplinary Team Working

An array of different knowledge from different healthcare practitioners will help the students acquire more learning. The expertise of other practitioners is a source of knowledge for the students. In a study made by Borill, West, Dawson et al. (2015), it was emphasised that team working in healthcare gives the best and most cost-effective outcomes for patients and clients. It also promotes innovative ways of ensuring progress in practice and service. This is the cheapest way of providing a rich experience for both the staff and mentees who are enrolled in the program.
The benefits of multidisciplinary team are the following: a clearer objective of their job and what it entails, a high level of social support like practical and emotional support during times of stress or difficulty, and a higher level of cooperation compared to other organizations. This leads to a more enthusiastic staff, and enables employees to exude a positive attitude toward work. If the mentor feels good about their work environment then there are better chances of fostering a good relationship between the mentor and the mentees. The mentor will also be able to expose their mentees to such a non-threatening environment.
Furthermore, a multi-disciplinary team working gives a chance to other team members to enhance their expertise as they are focused on only one job. This way, their objective will be achieved flawlessly. Having team members who support you in any way will encourage you to do your job without being affected by personal or professional problems. When your mentees see this kind of environment in the placement ward, they will be able to imbibe such positive attitude when they finish their mentorship program. Consequently, this type of setting will result in a high level of cooperation since the solidarity of the team is present.

Leadership and Change Management

In the journals provided the positive relationship of the mentors with the students promotes good patient outcomes. The transformational leadership style is in the core of having a good relationship with your mentee. In addition, transformational leadership is somehow like the democratic form of government, which let its followers and leaders have a common aim. Letting your students become independent at some time will boost their confidence in doing something they can be proud of. By enhancing their self-confidence, there is a better chance of providing patients with quality care. From the study of Cummings and Wong, it was discovered that organizations should be able to encourage the staff to develop transformational and relational leadership as a part of improving nurse satisfaction, recruitment, and retention, as well as promoting a healthy workplace.
Changes are implemented for the improvement of the organisation. There have been a lot of studies, which show that the leadership styles of nurse leaders greatly affect patient outcomes.
The goals of leadership and change management are safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, equity, patient centeredness (Timmons et al. 2006). Reducing harm and injuries in patients is one of the top priorities for providing healthcare. Lessening the waiting time for the patients is another priority for the change of management and leadership in healthcare. Providing quality care should not always be expensive; rather, it should be something that everybody can afford. Trimming down the incongruence in the healthcare profession is also one of the important things that the healthcare sector should consider. Patient-centeredness is a product of evidence-based practice in nursing. Allowing patients to voice out their comments or views will help improve healthcare practice.

References

References
Ahmed, S., Cheeran, P., and Chattington, P., 2013. Self administration of medicines by in patients: are we making any progress? Clinical Medicine, [online] Available at:
< http://www.clinmed.rcpjournal.org/content/13/4/419.full>
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