PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Advice for Mentors and Mentees in Critical Care Nursing
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EveryNurse Staff
- Last Updated: 08/23/2021
The first year of nursing is always intimidating, especially when starting a new career in the intensive care unit (ICU) or progressive care unit (PCU). New nurses are suddenly tasked with the massive responsibility of caring for people during the most sick and vulnerable times of their lives. These nurses routinely care for critically ill, complex patients, in a highly specialized environment.
According to Critical Care Nursing, 8th Edition, intensive care nursing is a speciality that requires nurses to be hypervigilant in order to deliver competent care in an environment where patient’s conditions are often unpredictable and even life-threatening. Orientation in the ICU or PCU is highly specialized and often lasts 3 to 6 months or longer, however it takes most novice nurses several years to become confident in their role as a critical care nurse. Nurse mentorships can be beneficial in helping new nurses ease into the transition of practicing independently with confidence.
What Is a Nurse Mentor ?
According to 5 Benefits of Mentorship in Nursing, a nurse mentor is an experienced nurse who is willing to share their knowledge and time with new or less experienced nurses. Mentorships can be informal or formal. Many hospital systems are adopting formal nurse mentorship programs as an extension to orientation, typically lasting 9 months to a year. The nurse-mentor relationship is extremely beneficial for new graduate nurses or nurses transferring to more complex units. New nurses who participate in mentorships develop the competence and confidence to practice autonomously as intensive care providers.
Benefits of Mentors for Nurses new to ICU or PCU
Mentors help new nurses in an abundance of ways, the relationship a mentor and mentee develops helps build confidence and lets the less experienced nurse know they are always supported. As mentioned in 12 Nurses Share Their Favorite Mentoring Advice, mentors become the sounding board for the mentee’s questions, challenges, and they share hands-on knowledge that new nurses generally don’t experience enough of in the classroom or during clinical rotations.
The novice nurse does not have to worry about feeling uncomfortable asking questions. It is comforting to know you can ask for assistance when a new clinical skill may be required or reiterated. Having a go-to-person alleviates the amount of stress a new nurse faces when starting a position, especially on a highly critical unit.
How is a Mentor Helpful?
A good nurse mentor can be extremely informative, an excellent teacher, or a great listener. They are someone you can trust and always find them easy to contact when things go wrong. A good nurse mentor is someone who is not only willing to offer guidance and advice, but also open to being asked for help. They are able to acknowledge mistakes in judgment, remain patient throughout the duration of the relationship, and considers the needs of their mentee instead of their own. A good mentor will:
- Provide guidance
- Offer emotional support
- Build confidence
- Assists with clinical responsibilities
- Help resolve issues
Mentoring fellow nurses isn’t for everyone, it requires patience, commitment, and the enjoyment of helping others. Mentors need to have critical thinking and organizational skills, as well as be able to juggle several things at a time, as mentors usually have their own assignment, in addition to mentoring.
Advice for Mentors
- Be personable and approachable.
- Consider setting weekly mentoring goals to establish clinical competence in key areas.
- Promote clinical decision making and critical thinking skills.
- “Your way isn’t always the only right way.” Recognize that each nurse learns differently or approaches things their own way, honor that while offering your suggestions.
- Find out from the mentee which method of learning works best for them.
- Lead by example, always be a positive role model.
- Admit when you don’t know something, doing this shows that even seasoned nurses aren’t expected to know everything, look up the policy or procedure together.
- Promote a welcoming learning environment, let the mentee know you have their back, encourage them to ask questions and to participate in anything that will help them gain experience.
- Stay humble and kind, remember how nervous you were when you first started.
Participating in a mentorship may be one of the most important things you can do to build confidence as a new nurse. Be sure to ask about mentorship programs during the interview process of your career search. Hospital organizations that participate in mentorship programs show they value supporting their nurses. Nurse mentorships have been shown to reduce nurse bullying and increase nurse retention rates. The first year of nursing is intimidating for even the most confident nurses. Having a mentor will help set yourself up for success and reduce stress as a novice nurse.
As discussed in the Australian Nursing & Midwifery Journal, effective mentorship mentoring is an ongoing relationship between mentor and mentee, it is important they click with each other, sometimes the interpersonal dynamics do not always work out. Successful mentoring relationships are built on trust and willingness to give and receive feedback. If the relationship doesn’t seem to provide an effective learning environment, consider letting it go, allowing the mentee to pursue another mentor.
Advice for Mentees
- Give yourself at least a year to become acclimated to your unit.
- Choose a mentor that you feel comfortable with, they will be your go-to-person.
- Stay humble, you aren’t going to know everything at first, always ask questions if you are unsure. Do not be afraid or ashamed to ask for help.
- Participate in all aspects of care, even if it terrifies you. You will be glad you did the next time you have to do it on your own.
- Offer to take the admission, to help with a new procedure, to assist in a code. Put yourself out there and you will gain more experience and confidence.
- If you feel like you aren’t benefiting from a current mentor, speak up, discuss what isn’t working for either of you, and if needed try to form a relationship with a new mentor.
- Advocate for your patients and yourself. Speak up for safety.
- Stand up for yourself if you feel like you are being taken advantage of. The new nurse doesn’t always need the hardest assignments, toughest patients and to take every admission.
- Remember this is your time to learn, absorb everything you can.
As a new nurse you will face many hardships throughout the learning process on the way to becoming a seasoned confident nurse. Having a nurse mentor can help alleviate some of your fears and anxieties as a novice nurse. You will have days when you don’t think you can come back again and do it all tomorrow because you are physically and mentally exhausted. You will work long hours, you will work holidays, you will miss important events in your family’s life. Practice self care in whatever way that means to you- running, taking a bath, reading a book, yoga, massage, spending time with family or friends. Take time to yourself to rest and recharge to prevent burning yourself out.
You will see people during their most vulnerable times, you will hold people’s hand at the end of their life, you will have to deliver information noone wants to hear, you will second guess yourself time and time again, but you will witness the beauty in caring for others and realize what a privilege it is to call nursing your career.
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