Coaching and or Mentoring Model/Strategies used for the Undergrad Nursing Students in the Clinical Area - Essay Example

? Coaching and or Mentoring Model/Strategies used for the Undergrad Nursing in the Clinical Area Introduction The developed countries of the world are regularly faced with the problem of shortages in the number of nurses. The existence of nurse shortages is primarily due to the fact that the entire workforce of nurses at present is growing old. For intensifying the adverse situation, there is excessive demand for services related to health accompanied with scarcity of nursing mentors for educating the students and thus creating new era nurses. The root cause with respect to wide gap between the demand and supply of nurses in the developed countries is the ineffectiveness of mentoring programs or models for nursing education in those countries. The lost attractiveness of these mentoring programs is a significant reason for the growing shortages of nurses within the countries (Public Health Research Education & Development Program, 2011). On diagnosing the fact that there is extreme necessity of generating an effective model or strategy for providing training to the undergraduate nursing students, the research paper has been developed. The aim of this research paper is to explore various aspects in regards to an effective mentoring program for educating the nursing students. As per the exploration results, the model or strategy for the most effective mentoring program will be designed along with consideration of the possible barriers that can evolve during the implementation process of the program. These steps will be followed for fulfilling the ultimate goal of successful implementation of the coaching and mentoring strategies in the arenas of educating the nursing students. 2. Brief Profile of the Area of Work The area of work is to act as an educator in the segment of providing education to the clinical nurses and is located around various hospitals situated in Perth. The work profile includes working with an utmost 12 students per day and is concerned with providing supervision and education to those students in several areas where they are allocated like that of revision of skills, various conditions of the patients and many more. The profile of the work is also inclusive of scrutinizing the documents of the students and verifying as to whether those documents are kept updated on a daily basis and also whether appropriate entries have been made into the documentation. Another important profile of the work is to ensure that the guidelines and policies of the hospital are all adhered to by the students. The basis of this entire research paper has been framed by analyzing gained outlook from the work being provided as a Clinical Nursing Educator in mentoring and guiding the nursing students. The necessity for an effective mentoring program in the nursing training process has also been identified from the facts being observed during imparting mentorship to the students. As a core worker of educating the nursing students with regards to learning clinical nursing aspects for serving people, the barriers towards effective implementation of an enhanced mentoring program are not unfamiliar. Effective management is essential to be generated within the education centers so as to ensure successful implementation of the enhanced programs. With this notional belief being upheld and gaining insights from various relevant literatures to the topic, this area of the research has been considered. 3. Necessity of Framing Nursing Mentorship Strategy Retention of students in nursing education has become a challenging factor for the education centers providing training. Various researchers, over the past several years, have explored the reason for such increase in students’ attrition rate in the education centers providing nursing training. Dorsey and Bake (2004), have recognized that there are mainly three causes that initiate the situation. The first reason is related to objectives of the nursing education aimed towards enhancement of students profile joining the education centers for becoming nurses and serving the society. According to the writers, the aims of education are indistinct and generate ambiguous meaning that misleads the students. The second reason adding up to the decrease in the numbers of nursing students is the level of dissatisfaction that the students receive from the functioning of the educational centers. According to the authors, the students take up the decision of switching their professional aim from nursing towards any other form after being dissatisfied from the operational efficiency of the centers where they gets themselves admitted. Thus, as a result of this decision of the students, the overall number of nurses in the country ultimately decreases. The third significant reason identified by the authors to be initiating the nursing students to depart from acquiring nursing training is the unclear statement of career objectives. The students perceive indistinct career opportunities and decide to receive education in any other career forms that holds strong and rapid growth prospect. It is necessary that a comprehensively effective mentoring strategy is framed to be utilized in providing nursing training to the nursing students. This is because an apposite mentoring program holds strong probability of effectively addressing various reasons giving rise to the increased rate of attrition among the students striving for receiving nursing education. A mentor is such a person who is analyzed as an intelligent and responsible individual, a coach, an instructor or a teacher. Mentoring is a premeditated combination of an experienced man or a woman with a less experienced and less skilled person with the aim of generating benefits that are effective for both the parties in the combination. The relationship between the mentor and the student can also be defined as that association which allows both the persons to follow the same process of augmentation and growth in their respective lives. The effectiveness of a mentoring program can be examined by evaluating the degree of cohesion between the retention of students and relationship in mentorship. The measurement result of the mentorship scenario depicts that there is large necessity for the creation of a sophisticated mentorship program in the segment of nursing education. The observed importance of the traditional form of relationship between the mentor and the mentee or the student laid the foundation of developing an effective mentorship program in the present scenario. Two of the most important utilities being served by the traditional relationship in mentoring are the psychosocial utility and the career utility. The utility under the prospect of psychosocial phenomenon are inclusive of recognition, generating relationship of friendship, counseling and many more. On the other hand, utility under the prospect of career phenomenon is inclusive of several activities like that of training, mentoring, defending and challenging assignments in work. Both the utilities are aimed towards providing benefits to the nursing students. Career utility provides guidance to the students and aid towards their success whereas the psychosocial utility emotionally motivates the students for assisting them up in building self-belief and poise (Dorsey and Baker, 2004). In a nutshell, the necessity of an effective mentorship model or strategy has to be mentioned as very significant for achieving the objective of lowering students’ attrition rate from the nursing education centers. In the following section of the research paper, the anticipated benefits for a renovated mentorship strategy within the education centers of nursing will be discussed for making the readers understand the programs’ importance. The first important perceived benefit of the coaching or mentoring strategic model in case of providing education to the nursing student is the creation of an improved environment within the workplace. Thus, the effective strategy of mentorship program will lead towards the formation of a favorable working environment for the nurses operating in the public health segment of the country. The second important perceived benefit associated with the formation of an effective mentorship strategy is in relation to enhanced level of recruitment in the public health segment of the country. This anticipated benefit is a long term concern and will occur as a result of being able to retain nursing students through provision of interesting and effective training through the mentorship program. The third anticipated benefit of the mentorship strategies is obviously higher amount of retention of the nursing students within the segment where education related to public health services are provided. Successful implementation of the mentorship strategies will lead towards enhanced retention of nurses servicing at their career period from middle ages to late ages (Public Health Research Education & Development Program, 2007). However for successfully planning and designing an effective mentoring or coaching strategic model, it will be extremely required that the mentor realize that he has to become an effective mentor. On the basis of this realization, it is also essential that the mentors develop certain paths of evolving as an effective mentor and precisely follow that path (National League for Nursing, 2006). 4. Exploration of Various Models of Coaching and Mentoring and Rationale for the Selection of a Particular Model The selection of the most appropriate coaching model in nursing education will be dependent upon the individual approaches of the coaches and also upon the framework within which the phenomenon of coaching actually takes place. With respect to various approaches of the coaches, there prevails a number of models and methods of coaching. The selection of one best model of coaching, predominantly, depends upon the nature to which the coach follows the approach of being directive, analytic, person-centered or paradoxical. On the basis of these approaches, the following four models have been determined to be suitable by de Hann and Burger (2005). 4.1 GROW Model The GROW suits best with the methodological approach of being directive. Directive is such an approach of the coach that represents result-oriented notions and does not generally believe on the elements of possessing emotional attachments in the process of self development. This model is based upon four dimensions, goal, reality, options and what/who/when. At each of these dimensions, various questions are utilized by the coach. This model produces best results when utilized for the beginners by incorporation of the feeling of duty and awareness (de Hann & Burger, 2005). 4.2 Counseling Model The counseling models are more suitable for the coaches who follow a person-centered approach. Counseling model provides the basis for following a non-directive approach and emphasizes more on the creation of personal interactive environment. This model follow-up by the coaches develops a positive image of them in front of the students. The coaches gradually become more concerned about the physical and mental comfort of the students besides their level of performance and results being generated from their performances (de Hann & Burger, 2005). 4.3 Analytic Model The third model is that of the analytic model that generates the most appropriate results in case of coaching approach that demands deep insights upon the traits of coaching. This model works the best when aimed towards overcoming confrontation and supporting the individuals to understand themselves in a better manner and diagnose their own matters related to problems and difficulties. The ladder method is effectively utilized by the coaches in analytic model for initiating a sense of decision making among the students. The analytic model enhances the students for taking active participation in the coaching process through sufficient individual participation (de Hann & Burger, 2005). 4.4 Paradoxial and Ironic Model Another model utilized by the coaches in imparting training to the nursing students is in relation to paradoxical methodological approach. The methodological approach of being paradoxical is such a situation which is concerned with difficult situations within the coaching environment where the coaches urge towards manipulation or astonishing the students or learners. Paradoxical and ironic methods are adopted by the coaches who holds paradoxical notion of building up his or her approach in imparting training. These models help the coaches to identify area where the students are not attentive and enhance them to make themselves adequately effective in those areas (de Hann & Burger, 2005). Coaching is concerned with development of the comprehension, skills and behaviors of the individuals along with improvement of performance related to the professional aspect whereas mentoring is more concerned with the transferring of cohesion, assistance and counseling to the learners on a long term basis. The responsibility of the mentor is related to the provision of advises and enhancement of overall abilities of the learners rather than concentrating on improvement of performance on certain specific arenas. The following are the models of mentoring being followed for the purpose of enhancing abilities of the students. The selection of one best model among the few by the nurses will be dependent upon the factors as to whether the approach will be formal or informal in nature. 4.5 Functionalist Model The first mentoring model is that of the functionalist model which is more asymmetric to the traditional forms of mentoring model. This is a hierarchical and commanding approach that calls for conveying of knowledge between the mentor and the mentee on the basis of certain predetermined actions. The model is termed as a restricted one limited by a certain distance between the mentor and the learner and is followed for the accomplishment of definite objective. 4.6 Engagement Model The engagement model is also similar in terms to the functionalist model but in this case the approach is concentrated towards the subjective consideration of the learner. The model is followed through more of a humanistic phenomenon and with this view in point, the objectives are fulfilled. 4.7 Group Mentoring Model The group mentoring model is both a democratic as well as inter-dependent form of model where the benefits of mentor’s knowledge are received by more than one mentees. The most important characteristic of this model is that each of the members of the group can also help each other. This model is, thus, sometimes even called the uni-disciplined or cross-disciplined model. 4.8 Self-Managed Model Self-managed model is an upbeat model which is also known as the model being driven by necessities of the individuals. In this model, the learners, according to their needs arising during various stages of their lives, approaches the mentor for receiving training. The individuals look for building up relationship with the mentors based on the situations where they require training on different respects. 4.9 e-Mentoring In the e-mentoring model, the elements of training are provided by the mentor through electronic means without meeting face-to-face with the learners. There can be variation in this mentoring model as the face-to-face interaction can take place either in group or individually. Considering the vast reach of the e-mentoring model, in the present scenario of the world, it can be efficiently considered the most rationale model. This is because this model not only enhances the pace of reaching out to the students on a large scale but also provides the basis of generating cohesion among the mentor and mentee(s) without being physically close to each other. In other words, this model helps in breaking out the barrier of geographical location and communication drawback due to being unable to reach certain place on time. 5. Process of Implementing Initiative towards Effective Mentoring Model If anyone aims to embrace upon the organizational culture as constituting an integral portion of the mentoring program, then the mentor can be explained as that qualified and skilled person who supports the transitional process of a new member from an old culture towards a new one. Conversely, the mentee is the one who generally holds various exceptional needs both in terms of the society as well as their individual developmental perspective. They are composite of the fresh nurses, nurses coming from the foreign countries, student nurses and also those nurses who are on their life phases of transitioning from one era to another. In this section of the research paper, the processes that are essential to be followed for making the implementation of nursing mentoring effective will be discussed along with various important aspects associated with implementation of mentoring strategies. 5.1 Steps in Implementation of the Initiative As a first step of the implementation process, essential linkages are required to be developed between mentoring and results of the session of training and development being depicted in the organizations or the educational centers related to healthcare. The second step to be followed during implementing the initiative is the phase of identification and definition. In this step, it is significant to recognize and explain the functions of mentoring and also various other available traits of the present networks in staffing. The aim of this step is to precisely identify the areas which are required to be enhanced for successful implementation of the framework of nursing mentoring. The third step in the process of implementing nursing mentoring strategies is concerned with the aspect of aligning the strategies with other prevailing strategies within the organization. The strategies along which mentoring strategies can be aligned should be consisted of the traits that promote development of the nursing professionals and also generate the scope of receiving valuable training for the professionals dealing with any activity related to healthcare. This process of alignment of mentoring strategies with other important strategies will provide the basis for evaluating the compatibility of the mentoring strategies in the organizational environment. After measuring the alignment of the strategies with organizational environment, the next essential step is to encourage the professionals of nursing towards the formation of a mindset that is comprehensively concerned with effectively mentoring the mentees. The encouragement is also generated towards initiating the mentors to accept various roles and responsibilities for providing mentoring amenities to the students. The encouragement is better generated when aimed towards creation of mentoring role, both structured and ad-hoc in nature. The last step in mentoring initiative would be to coordinate the resources available for mentoring along with the available information throughout various segments of healthcare. The aim of this step is to generate areas where the alignment process has left out any flaw as a result of which chances of disparity has occurred (Johnson, 2004). 5.2 Importance of Nursing Leadership in Generation of Mentoring Culture The initiative towards creation of an effective mentoring culture requires strong leadership trait from the nurse for inspiring the trainee nurses for understanding and utilizing the strategies of mentoring. Through utilization of the initiative, the manager nurses along with other staff nurses will be able to communicate recognition of values and beliefs towards achievement of goals in mentoring strategies. The nursing leaders are required to provide guidance and inspiration to other nurses, encouragement towards development of sense of principle and foster the principle towards mode of their works. However, effective leadership style and team building effort will not provide the basis of formulating the nursing mentoring environment along with generation of a common vision. For making the initiative a reality, communications for reaching out to interested, initiated, encouraged and motivated individuals whose cohesion and time allocation to the activities is essential for striving out towards the long term vision. Achievement of the vision requires formation of mutual partnership along with motivation and stimulation aimed towards mentors. Utilization of effective nursing leadership and communication for motivating will not only remove obstacles towards the implementation process but also will gain level of commitment from the employees (Medscape Today News, 2011). 5.3 Effect of the Initiative on Organization and Management of Change The initiative generated for bringing on an effective framework of mentoring in the nursing phenomenon can affect the mentality of nursing workforce as they can hold the notion of resisting to change. With this regards, the organization are in need of a dynamic approach towards efficient management of changes. The culture within the organization is another aspect that can be affected through the approach of organization towards redesigning of mentoring programs. For handling issues related to change management, the styles of leadership and processes of management are required to be adaptive in nature so that the same nature can be transformed into the workforce as a whole. Another dimension of the organization that can be affected due to the initiative of launching the new mentoring strategy is the administration. The cell of administration that looks after effective implementation of the initiative should be framed as such that they adequately receive support from the top management towards this aspect of transformation. Level of support has to be enhanced so as to frame effective steps in managing change successfully (Kaminski, 2011). 6. Potential Barriers to Success and Process of Overcoming those Barriers There are various potentials barriers identified during the process of implementing the mentorship program successfully. The most important barrier that can hinder in the process of successful implementation is the factor of time and planning of schedule between the mentor and the mentee or protege. Asking for time from the nurses who are already struggling with management of time between personal and professional life would be a sturdy request. Lack of match and connection between the mentor and protege is another barrier that adversely affects the potential to succeed with respect to a mentorship program. This lacking, at times, also impacts upon the development of effective partnership between the partners in nursing mentoring. This barrier is actually a result of excessive formal relationship between the mentor and the protege. Formal relationship between the parties sometimes even results into pessimistic perception about the experience of the mentors. For resolving the barriers and making the implementation process a success, it is essential to efficiently design the program. There has to be comprehensive planning, scheduling, and designing, implementing and controlling stages for successfully executing mentoring programs. Secondly for generating cohesive relationship between the mentor and the protege, sufficient preliminary preparation is essential. In the session of preparation, overt elucidation of the parameters for relationship has to be included so as to initiate strong cohesion in the mentor-protege relationship. Lastly and most importantly, it is essential to modify properly the planned mentoring programs on the basis of feedbacks received from the applicants to the mentorship program. It is again important to frame design for receiving adequate significant feedback so that they can be utilized for redesigning effectively the mentoring programs. Above all of the remedial measures determined for removing barriers to the success of mentoring programs in nursing, lies the level of commitment from the mentors and proteges. Both the parties in mentoring programs has to be highly committed towards this concept and utilize their efforts for generating solutions to the problems in order to bring success to the implementation of the mentoring programs. 7. Conclusion The dimension of discussion that has been undertaken in the research paper has provided the basis for drawing up conclusion in this segment of the research paper. The finding of this research paper is an integrative discovery being generated through application of theoretical aspect into the practicalities of the nursing segment. The basis of foundation of this research paper has been initiated from the necessity of framing an effective mentoring strategy for eradicating the problems that nursing industry is facing during the present times. The entire research paper was developed on the basis of identified problem of increasing attrition rate in the segment of nursing. It has been identified that an effective mentoring strategic model is one of the most essential solutions aimed towards reduction of the rate of attrition in nursing industry. Another important aspect of the research paper was to identify the most effective model to be implemented in successfully imparting nursing education. Combined framework of two models; model of operating through existing networks of nurses and the information dissemination model, has been identified as the most appropriate to be implemented in provision of nursing education. With respect to the implementation process of this model, steps have been represented and in relation to effective implementation of this model, various supportive issues have also been discussed. The supportive issues were in relation to management of change to be imparted along with implementation of the mentoring strategic model. Various barriers that can hinder the success of mentoring strategic model implementation have also been identified and remedial steps towards eradicating the barriers have also been initiated. The aim of this paper has thus been fulfilled with comprehensive analysis of various aspects associated with successful implementation of mentoring programs and resolving the most appropriate means of considering problems related to nursing phenomenon. References Dorsey, L. E. & Baker, C. M. (2004). Mentoring Undergraduate Nursing Students. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://bmhlibrary.info/15586124.pdf de Hann, E. & Burger, Y. (2005). Coaching with Colleagues: An Action Guide to One-to-One Learning. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Johnson, G. (2004). Mentoring for Nurses in General Practice ~ Opportunities & Challenges. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://generalpracticenursing.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/14737/Mentoring-for-nurses-in-general-practice---opportunities--and--challenges.pdf Kaminski, J. (2011). Leadership and Change Management: Navigating the Turbulent Frontier. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://www.nursing-informatics.com/changemant.html Public Health Research Education & Development Program. (2011). A Resource Guide for Implementing Nursing Mentorship in Public Health Units in Ontario. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://www.phred-redsp.on.ca/Docs/nursing_mentorship_resource_guide.pdf Public Health Research Education & Development Program. (2007). Ontario Nursing Strategy: Preceptorship/Mentorship Initiative. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://www.phred-redsp.on.ca/Docs/Reports/OntarioNursingStrategy.pdf Medscape Today News. (2011). The Role of Nursing Leadership in Creating a Mentoring Culture: Successful Mentoring: The Essential Dimensions. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/559316_2 National League for Nursing. (2006). Mentoring of Nurse Faculty. Retrieved August 11, 2011, from http://www.nln.org/aboutnln/positionstatements/mentoring_3_21_06.pdf Read More