Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing (ND)

First Advisor

Dr. Shonda Phelon

Abstract

Mentorship is frequently overlooked as a key strategic focus in healthcare environments, yet it is essential for fostering a culture of mentorship. Structured mentoring initiatives offer significant benefits for both mentors and mentees. They enable nurses to build professional connections while enhancing their skills. It is essential for nurses to receive thorough mentorship that not only hones their professional abilities but also considers their emotional well-being. An increasing amount of research highlights the beneficial effects of mentorship on various outcomes, such as role confidence, job retention, and overall career satisfaction. Most health care systems lack a mentoring program specifically tailored for nurse practitioners, but those that implement formal programs have shown a positive impact on job retention and job satisfaction. This quality improvement project aimed to determine if implementing a new nurse practitioner mentoring program led to significant improvements in participants’ confidence, expectations, and overall readiness. Twelve family nurse practitioners were paired in a mentor/mentee relationship with years of experience for the mentors ranging from 8-14 years and < 18 months for the mentees. Content was developed to create a pilot mentoring program for family nurse practitioners. The pilot program lasted for 12 weeks from September 2024 to December 2024. A total of 7 survey questions regarding confidence and experiences in their role as nurse practitioners appeared on the pre-test and post-test surveys. There were statistically significant changes between the pre-test and post-test for four out of the seven questions. This mentoring program had a positive effect on participants' confidence, expectations, ability to meet professional demands, capability to address patients' clinical care needs, and confidence in managing their patient load, highlighting the importance of a nurse practitioner mentorship.

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