Andrea EsquibelHSC175 July 26, 2010 Professional Role Development Professional Role Development The synthesis of Art and Science is lived by the Nurse in the Nursing act. –Josephine G. Paterson. In this article entitled “Professional Development and the Role of Mentorship,” the author, Panther W. Ali, PA, talks about developing a professional nursing role is to role model the nurse in an actual working facility. The skills and role-conceptions developed in the actual nursing field as opposed to just the educational facility demonstrated a great difference.
The development of a professional nurse begins with the mentor the student or beginning nurse she is with. Roles of a mentor play an important part for the developing nurse. The roles of a mentor include being the advisor, the role model, the coach, problem solver, teacher, supporter, the organizer and planner, the counselor, and finally the guide. The advisor offers support and advice to students about their career, developing social contacts and building networks.
The role model provides an observable image for imitation, demonstrating skills and qualities for the mentee to emulate. The coach not only provides students with constructive feedback to improve their clinical practice, but also promotes a flexible approach to accepting feedback. The problem solver helps the student critically analyze and solve problems, promoting critical thinking and problem solving and decision-making skills.
The teacher shares his or her knowledge and experience with the student, identifies the student’s individual learning needs and learning style, and provides a conducive learning environment to maximize learning. The supporter provides the student with professional and moral support as needed by the student. The organizer and planner organizes learning experiences for students to help them achieve the requires competencies. The counselor requires the mentor to encourage self-development in students by helping them to think about and reflect on their practice.
The guide introduces the student to helpful contacts and power in the organization. “To perform the mentorship role effectively and to fulfill their responsibilities, mentors should have certain personal attributes as identified in the literature. These characteristics include friendliness, a good sense of humor, patience, effective interpersonal skills, approachability and professional development abilities (Andrews and Wallis 1999, Papp et al 2003, Wilkes 2006). ”
