Importance of Mentorship in Nursing - Essay Example

Mentorship in nursing is very imperative. This relationship helps in developing the future of an inexperienced nurse especially in the professional areas. In this case attributes and qualities are passed on by an experienced professional nurse. It is even recommended that each and every student should have a mentor who will direct and even educate him or her in different nursing areas. This paper is dealing with the overall evaluation of my performance as a mentor in the workplace. This is in reference to United Kingdom’s nursing and midwifery council guidelines of two thousand and six. (Andrews, 2005) Analysis of my performance as a mentor in workplace shows that nursing and midwifery council guidelines were strictly adhered to. This played as a foundation or basis on various professional issues that had to be passed on to the student. First of all in mentorship, I had to find out how much the student knew and what she did not understand. This gave a good basis on where to begin in mentorship. I also had to find out how much exposure she had had in practicals. It was evident that more of the knowledge was theoretically taught and therefore I had to dwell more on practicals of various topics that the lecturer handled in class. There was also the need of educating the student on different aspects required in a working environment in accordance to the United Kingdom’s nursing and midwifery council guidelines. It was very important to ensure that the student clearly understands the standards that are required in the nursing profession. (Andrews, 2005)The student had to get a thorough illustration of completing a pulse and respiration count. The student had to review the information learnt in class. I had to emphasize to the student that when taking a patient’s pulse, they have to look out for two important aspects. These are the character and the rate of the pulse. The rate of pulse has three classifications; that is normal, rapid and slow. In this case the student had to remember that the normal rate for adults is usually of beats 60-80 per minute. When it goes beyond one hundred then it is classified as rapid. On the other hand any pulse rate under sixty beats is considered slow. The character of the pulse refers to the force and the rhythm of the patient’s pulse. It is usually considered to be regular when the beats are constant and irregular when they are not constant. (Atkins, 2002) The student also had to know more on respiration. During observation, the student should look out for character and rate. It is also classified as normal, slow or rapid. In this case rapid occurs where there are more than twenty eight respirations in every minute. Normal is between twelve to twenty breaths per minute. Respiration is considered regular when interval between one and next breath is constant and vice versa. All these had to be explained to the student. The student also had to learn through practice on checking the pulse and respiration of patients using different equipments. Another important aspect that the student had to clearly understand was the overall need of establishing effective working relationships. I had to explain to the student that working as a nurse also depends on different relationships. There are various essential relationships at the workplace that may either enhance one’s work or result in ineffectiveness. The student had to understand that it is very essential to have good relations between her and other employees. She had to learn the code of language to use when addressing her seniors and even her colleagues. First of all, I had to explain that courtesy is very important. This includes remembering to say hi to her workmates and even her seniors. This is always a very good way of establishing effective working relationships each and every day. (Atkins, 2002)It is also very essential to remember to greet the patients that one is attending to or those the nurse comes into contact with. Courtesy also involves remembering to say thank you, welcome and sorry among other words. This makes the people that are told these words to respond in a similar way. The workplace relationships always have effects on the job practiced by a nurse. As a mentor I had to enlighten the student on impacts of intimate relationships with staff. This in most cases adversely affects the work of a nurse. This is due to the fact that whenever they are in conflict then the parties can never be effective at work. Intimate relationships with staff in most cases take the nurse’s mind far from work and results in making of many mistakes. A nurse has to establish effective working relationships because she depends on other people when carrying out her duties. Communication is the basic tool of establishing relationships and whenever there are any conflicts as they would always occur, they have to be quickly solved. The other aspect that was taught to the student is also related to United Kingdom’s nursing and midwifery council guidelines of two thousand and six. This is learning assessment. The student had to understand that in as much as she is constantly being evaluated by her seniors, self assessment is very important. As a student, one has to carry out self assessment on a regular basis to ascertain whether what was taught was clearly understood and the guidelines given are being followed. (Atkins, 2002) This is especially on important issues like ethics of nursing and procedural aspects among others. The student had to understand that in the nursing profession just like many other jobs, the seniors will always be carrying out assessment of her work. This is to ensure that the nurse is following to the latter all the guidelines that are related to midwifery and nursing. Through self assessments, one will ensure to that he or she is working in relation to the required professional guidelines. The student also had to learn that they should always be accountable and responsible for their actions while on duty. Accountability actually means that one is answerable to the necessary authorities concerning their job or duties carried out. The student had to understand that the authorities within the healthcare set-up will always have to evaluate her work. This is also in line with any decisions that they make in line of duty. So she had to understand that whatever action she takes when taking care of a patient, she will always be answerable to her seniors whenever the need arises. I had to explain to the student that this principle was put in place in order to help nurses always make the right decisions when giving patients required care. (Butterworth, 2006) This means that a nurse is usually accountable for the drugs they advise patients to take. This also includes all the advice concerning the dos and don’ts given to patients. A nurse will always be accountable for all these actions and services that she or he gives patients. This helps in making nurses to make right decisions always. This is especially in line of duty. The student also had to understand that the code of practice in nursing always has to be adhered to. This includes putting in mind the values that are linked to healthcare ethics. They include truth telling, confidentiality, autonomy and informed consent. In this case, in as much as a nurse should always be accountable for his or her actions, this has to be done in conjunction with the value of truthfulness. This indicates that a nurse should always speak the truth concerning his or her actions when at work. Nurses have the obligation of ensuring that they provide safe and competent care to patients. They also have the overall right to decline participation in procedures that are against their conscience in the moral sense. This principle is also normally referred to as the principle of veracity. All these are in line with nursing and midwifery council guidelines of two thousand and six. As a mentor I also had to explain to the student that in nursing profession learning is very essential. This is especially due to the changing technology in nursing field. One always has to look out for necessary resources like books and journals in order to enhance their knowledge. Learning could be carried out either in a formal or informal way. One can have formal learning by joining a nursing institution where they can learn more. The student however had to know that they will need to learn more nursing aspects informally. This is mainly through observation of what the other senior nurses are carrying out. This means that the student should always try to be in scenes where different procedures are being carried out on patients. By keenly observing what is carried out, they would be able to learn more. It is very essential to ask questions on issues that are not clear. This is mostly to nurses who have many years of experience in the professional. The student also had to understand that evaluation of learning had to be carried out. In conclusion, mentorship in nursing is quite essential. As a mentor, I had to explain various standards that have to be adhered to in relation to nursing and midwifery council of two thousand and six. This included issues concerning a pulse and respiration count. Aspects handled included how to practically carry out a pulse and respiration count. This included information on when the two are normal slow or rapid. Other factors that were handled included establishing effective working relationships, accountability, and evaluation of learning and facilitation of learning assessment. The mentorship was effective as the student was able to understand all the standards of United Kingdom’s Nursing and Midwifery Council guidelines (2006). This will create a good foundation for her nursing career. . Read More