Personal and Professional Development as a Mentor - Term Paper Example

Personal and Professional Development as a Mentor Introduction A wide variety of practice-based professions, such as nursing, primarily depend on clinical staff members for support, learning, and supervision in their practice settings. A common belief is that students can effectively learn by working together with actual practitioners who can demonstrate leadership and mentorship in a secure and supportive environment accustomed to clinical education (Fredricks and Wagner 2003). As there has been increased shortage among nurses and allied medical practitioners, there has also been a correspondingly crucial need for successful transition of students to their desired professional roles. Challenges have been experienced when teaching both large and small groups in classroom and clinical settings (Riley and Fearing 2009), especially in transferring fundamental nursing skills and knowledge to students. Therefore, the use of practicum opportunities and experiences that are student-centered and supervised by the faculty and other senior members can be an efficient means of imbibing key skills among these students. Mentoring has been associated with both the personal and professional development of individuals, and can provide certain benefits in clinical practice (Browne-Ferrigno and Muth 2004). By nature, mentoring requires the commitment of both sides to develop and intense relationship that demonstrates mutual respect for each other, sharing of similar interests, and the willingness to achieve professional growth. Furthermore, the values and beliefs shared by the mentor and mentee becomes a foundation of their relationship. Mentors serve as role models who demonstrate various ways of accomplishing tasks to mentees, with mentees developing their own style based on the knowledge and skills transferred from their mentor. Generally, mentors must be capable of understanding their mentees, aware of the ways with which they communicate and exchange ideas, follow policies and required standards, and are ideal examples for a certain profession. They should also demonstrate a positive attitude about everything that is related to the mentoring relationship such as their commitment to working with others or their willingness to contribute to their mentees’ career development. In a discussion by Barker (2006) to provide insight on mentoring and its significant role on advanced practice nursing, it was concluded that success in a mentoring relationship can be attained by understanding the concept of mentoring, the supervision of the mentor-mentee relationship, setting attainable goals and expectations, as well as compatibility between the two sides. On the other hand, the occurrence of weak communication along with unachievable goals and objectives will result to poor and ineffective mentoring relationships, hence undesirable outcomes. It is, therefore, necessary that mentoring relationships that are appropriately controlled are most likely to enhance professional development, performance, and competence (Morton-Cooper and Palmer 2000). This paper focuses on my goals toward becoming a mentor in the nursing context, specifically with the use of a personal and professional development plan. I believe that creating such plans play a significant role in addressing my objectives as it provides a step-by-step action plan and focuses on the most important priorities to be accomplished. Moreover, these plans help individuals in further understanding themselves, such as one’s strengths and weaknesses, to build a strong and solid foundation and understand the necessary components to achieve any goal. To have a clear definition of the most crucial objectives is also beneficial to determining potential in desired professional roles. Personal/ Professional Development Plan as a Mentor Strengths and Weaknesses Focusing on the strengths and weaknesses that I perceive of myself as well as those from others will assist me in gaining awareness of what I am capable of and what I should be improving on. First, I believe that my strong points include the strong interpersonal relationships that I tend to develop with others, particularly with my desire to help and do what I can to solve an issue. My ability to communicate also addresses the need for constant feedback, evaluation and counseling which are all essential for mentoring relationships (Capasso and Daresh, 2001). In addition, I put much emotion when establishing these relations in such a way that I become sensitive and responsive to the needs of other people. I can help people in attaining a sense of belongingness and expressing their own opinion when it comes to decision making, thus allowing them to be in control. When a mentee is not comfortable with the environment established by the mentor, it is likely that this less experienced individual will undergo a decrease in performance and commitment. Goal clarity is also attained through persistent communication, thus allowing mentees to understand what we should be working for and how we can achieve such goals. I also have a positive attitude when it comes to learning and skill acquisition, and I believe that we should learn from our mistakes and that we should never stop learning regardless of how much experience we have had or how successful we have become. Moreover, I have had various experiences in the nursing context that can be of great use for skill transfer and acquisition among younger students. If individuals who have been given mentoring responsibilities are not knowledgeable, mentees are unlikely to develop respect and appreciation for their mentors, who are expected to demonstrate considerable competencies when it comes to the profession. Consequently, students who have less experience will look for other ways in order to obtain the skills and knowledge necessary for assuming their desired role (Eby and Allen 2002). The knowledge of mentors should include various areas for them to be able to discuss all issues with mentees. This way, if I combine these attributes together, I can create an environment where in my students would be learning from general experience to guide them in establishing realistic expectations and reduce the likelihood of disappointment in the future. The primary role of the mentor is to have either general or specific knowledge with regards to the desired profession of the students (Andrews and Wallis 1999) so I perceive my own experiences to be of guidance to them. Mentoring should revolve around a developmental relationship in which counseling and opportunities for advancement are provided to less experienced students by mentors, thus, molding the career experiences of these individuals. My ability to communicate with various people, become accustomed to their styles, and maintain strong and loyal relationships along with my previous clinical experiences will allow for the establishment of an interactive mentor-mentee relationship. However, I also possess a number of negative characteristics that should still be further enhanced. For example, I lack confidence in many things that I do and that I easily lose my temper. I find it difficult to maintain my composure during times of stress and pressure. I also tend to panic during ambiguous situations as I tend to plan everything ahead and I do not believe much in spontaneity. This may not be helpful in making effective decisions especially during difficult times. Furthermore, I may not be capable of fostering self-reliance and confidence among my mentees if I myself am not confident with my own capabilities. It would be crucial for me to be able to help these students realise their potential and use it for the best advantages to pave the way for career growth and development. Patience has also been an issue for me as I find it somehow hard to wait for certain things to happen. This has its own disadvantages as mentors who do not practice patience may become a barrier for mentees in accomplishing their learning tasks. Less experienced individuals who are not provided with the adequate opportunities for trying out new activities and making their own errors often exhibit worry and panic (Bozeman and Feeney 2008). Moreover, if the mentor is not capable of being patient, mentees may tend to become reluctant in showing new skills. People who are to assume a mentor role must be able to plan and carry out new experiences that are well-matched to the mentee’s needs and at the same time allow sufficient time for the mentee to feel that he or she has succeeded in every attempt, hence the need for patience among mentors. Patience will assist mentees in task accomplishment, reduce the dissatisfaction of both sides, and increase mentee autonomy. Feedback from other people regarding my attitudes and behaviours also indicate how I sometimes lack the initiative to effectively address a certain goal as they have observed how good I am at planning, though no action is evident. They have also observed how I can be very overwhelmed by stress especially when I have to take on increased workload. I think the level of pressure caused by work have certain effects on my behaviour, such as an increase in worry and tension, which are not at all helpful when making decisions. Desired State (Short-term and Long-term Goals) There are a number of things that I desire to improve or achieve. I feel that there is a crucial need for me to analyse things clearly before reacting with a negative response and that I should not have to be very intense in order to think and understand things in a clear way. Controlling my temper will significantly guide me in doing the right things at the proper time through efficient decision making. What’s more is that I should start believing in my capabilities for certain activities to help improve the confidence of other people surrounding me as well. I wish to be capable of acting and talking in a confident manner regardless of the situation or the person I am talking to. More importantly, I hope to reduce my fear of voicing out my opinion especially in large groups of people as well as to increase my enthusiasm in seeking new opportunities and making risks, hence reducing my fear of spontaneity. I want to influence other people and the process of decision making due to the confidence that I exhibit. In relation to being anxious at times, I sincerely hope to have reasonable control over all situations; for instance, when there is a need for a group decision, I want to one of the first individuals who would provide an opinion or recommendation. I also wish to be more assertive, to be able to say no to what is not appropriate, and to not be easily influenced by others. Finally, my last desire is to be capable of calmly understanding and evaluating any given situation, seek possible positive outcomes from it, and make the best use of all challenging circumstances. What should be attained is the focus on developing a solution rather on being overwhelmed by frustration or fear. Maintaining my positive attributes while enhancing all negative points can be beneficial in accomplishing desired goals through the development of healthy and strong mentoring relationships. Technically speaking, though, a very important goal for me to become an NMC mentor is to complete their mentor preparation program that will successfully meet NMC mentor requirements. It is fundamental that is develop the skills, knowledge, and other competencies necessary to match the desired outcomes of the NMC when it comes to teaching, supervising, and evaluating students in their practice settings. Consequently, my priority is to obtain all the components that the NMC is seeking from potential mentors including the ability to facilitate, evaluate and establish a healthy environment for learning, develop efficient working relationships, demonstrate and reinforce evidence-based practice, as well as exhibit leadership values and practices. It is also a priority for me to attend and record my attendance for annual mentor updates, as well as to be registered a year before being able to assume a mentor role. This way, I will be prepared in dealing with the pre-defined results in stage 2 of the practice for learning and evaluation. Conclusion The significant role that mentors play as well as the outcomes of effective mentoring relationships cannot be overstated. Continuous learning and experience in the nursing context and other clinical settings make guarantees that nurses and other health care professionals are given the necessary preparations for their future roles in actual settings. The mentor plays one of the most influential means of support for students in practice so these less experienced individuals are able to use their own knowledge, learn and gain more fundamental skills, and generally obtain the mandatory proficiencies for registration (Allen, Lentz, and Day 2006). Mentoring roles are of paramount importance in guiding and facilitating the professional development of nurses in the coming years. To become a mentor in the future will make me responsible for assisting students in translating learned theories into actual practice, thus, transforming classroom learning into the real experience. Skill and knowledge transfer along with constant communication that are present in mentoring relationships are most likely to provide satisfaction to both mentor and mentee as effective relations can lead to various benefits (Ensher, Thomas and Murphy 2001). I believe that it will be valuable for me to set objectives and develop my own action plan for becoming a mentor as mentoring will bring about favorable outcomes such as self-esteem among superiors, peers, and subordinates. Moreover, if I am capable of expressing fresh energy as the one responsible for mentees, it can help bring about excitement among them and boost their spirits. Bringing a new perspective to mentees can also help improve their job performance and increase their levels of loyalty and commitment. Equitable working relationships allow each party to obtain something useful from each other and reinforce organisational direction, thus the need for highly capable and competent mentors in the practice settings. 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