2Long Island University, Brooklyn, New York
Keywords: Peer Mentoring, Student Success
Students supporting peers in a program can teach collegiality, leadership, and collaboration skills. Mentoring, which is one type of peer support, is defined as a process in which the mentor serves as counselor and friend to transfer information about how best to succeed in an organization [10]. Mentoring has traditionally been a face-to-face relationship; however, different modes of technology have been used recently, including texting or email. Mentoring programs work best when they are organized with some guidelines employed [4]. A mentoring relationship has benefits for the mentor as well as the mentee. These benefits include fulfillment of witnessing a mentee who is adapting to a new role succeed under one’s guidance.
Budge reported a surprising lack of research on peer mentoring programs and sought to identify problems within mentoring programs in higher education [3]. Mentoring programs show tremendous benefit both in and outside of post-secondary education, particularly in helping advance careers or improving retention rates. However, the author identified several gaps in the implementation of mentoring programs. Budge argues that gender stereotypes shape the way that mentors can interact with females; women, especially Hispanic women, are less likely to be considered for mentoring [3]. Since much of the early research on mentoring involved using white men guiding white men, traditional mentoring typically excludes individuals of less represented races, ethnicities, sexual identities, and socioeconomic status, with much of the previous research not being very applicable to these individuals.
Also confounding the issue is the lack of consistency in defining mentoring programs, which leads to less valid research. Budge provides four suggestions for mentoring programs: 1) definitions of mentoring in education should be consistent and applicable to the educational setting, 2) research must be appropriate to the educational setting and incorporate empirical studies, 3) mentoring programs and research must be inclusive of women and minorities, and 4) programs must be restructured in order to become more effective [3]. To that effect, mentoring should be re-conceptualized as a holistic process that includes the perspectives of diverse populations.
Stress is a considerable psychosocial factor affecting students’ performances in nursing programs. Coping efforts can be directed outward (problem-focused) or inward (emotionfocused). Problem-focused coping is affected by the Locus of Control (LOC), where students with internal LOC assume a highlevel of responsibility while those with an external LOC attributes stress to fate, chance, or other individuals. Demir, Demir, Bulut, & Hisar conducted a quasi-experimental study to examine the effect of the mentoring program on mentees’ ways of coping with stress and the LOC, and specify the students’ views on the mentoring program [6]. First-year nursing students from one university were paired with fourth-year students to act as mentors for 14 weeks and completed questionnaires at the beginning and end of the study. It was found that the main sources of stress were: courses, academic standings, lecturers, future, families, friends, and accommodation. To cope with these stressors, students used active and passive ways. At the conclusion of the programs, the students’ beliefs shifted from external LOC to internal LOC, with the large majority of mentees finding the mentoring program useful. Due to the change in LOC, with is associated with ways of coping with stress, problem-focused/active coping increased and emotion-focused/passive coping decreased in students. Though this represents only one nursing school, the study suggests that a mentoring program supports the mentees for problem solving, adaptation to university environment, self-awareness, self-confidence, and establishment of positive relations with their mentors [6].
Padfield and Knowles using a two-month co-mentoring pilot study describe how unregistered practitioners can contribute to the learning, support, and development of pre-registration nursing students [16]. Padfield and Knowles also present a strategy to deliver training and supervision to unregistered practitioners involved in clinical learning [16]. Unregistered practitioner mentoring associates were found to enrich the nurse mentor assessment of student performance by providing a broader perspective and were therefore an adjunct to, but not a replacement of, registered nurse mentors. It is important to define the role of the unregistered practitioner mentoring associate in relation to that of the nurse mentor. This is necessary to prevent nurse mentors from feeling undermined by what they see as enforced role drift. Further research is needed on whether the guidance of unregistered practitioner mentoring associates help nursing students prepare more effectively for registered practice.
Students’ value learning collaboratively and learning with others in addition to having the opportunity to discuss leaning concerns with another student [7]. Peer mentors share their experience and help the mentee with understanding of how to best study difficult material. A peer mentor program provides good role models and is excellent training for future leaders in nursing. Many national leaders served as former peer mentors providing the best training for public service [14]. The demanding routine of a baccalaureate nursing program produces a considerable amount of stress for the student which can affect academic performance.
Cohort # 1-3 (n= participants) |
Dates |
Gender % |
Age (%) |
Ethnicity/Race % |
1 (n=9) |
9/2014-5/2015 |
Female 100% |
18-25 (88.9%) |
Caucasian 66.7% |
2 (n=13) |
9/2015- |
Female (84.6%) |
18-25 (92.3%) |
Caucasian 23.1% |
3 (n=7) |
1/2016-5/2016 |
Female 71.4% |
18-25 85.7% |
Caucasian 85.7% |
The overall research strategy was to initially examine the evaluation of the program by the mentees using a correlational design. This is appropriate for this pilot study to examine the two or more quantitative variables from the same group of students (mentees) to determine if there is a relationship between the two variables. The variable measured in the three questions examined from the mentee evaluation measured: success and support, support and comfort, and success and comfort. The three questions were as follows:
1. Overall, how would you rate the success of your mentor-mentee relationship?
2. Did you feel your relationship with your mentor was supportive?
3. Did participating in the mentor program increase your comfort in the nursing program?
Content analysis evaluated the responses to three items of the mentee evaluations focusing on the mentee’s perception of the mentor mentee relationship success; the mentee’s perception of the mentor as a supportive person; and the perceived comfort level of the mentee in the nursing program after participating in the mentor program.
2. What was least satisfying about the mentor program? “Mentor was not readily available, difficult to meet in person, did not have many questions, conflicting schedules”.
Nine mentees responded: List something that you learned from your mentor:“Study techniques, test taking strategies, practice questions & rationales,, expectations of classes/projects, to never give up, not to stress over grades and GPA (grade point average), time management”.
What did you like about the mentor program? “Having someone to talk to who could relate, the concept of the program, helped to learn about the nursing program, helped foster relationships”.
The mentee’s perceived success of the mentor relationship is associated with the mentee also viewing the mentor relationship as supportive. This finding supports the idea that nursing students who have mentors feel supported which may result in less anxiety and students being more empowered toward academic success.
The mentee viewing the mentor relationship as supportive was positively correlated with the mentee’s perceived comfort in the nursing program after participating in the mentor program. This finding reinforces the importance of mentors to support nursing students in increasing a student’s perceived comfort in the nursing program.
The mentee’s perception of the success of the relationship was positively associated with the mentee’s perception of comfort in the nursing program after participating in the mentor program. The third finding supports how the importance of a successful mentoring relationship is to a student’s positive level of comfort in the nursing program.
Nursing students who participate in a mentee mentor relationship that the mentee perceives as successful, supportive and increases their comfort level are more likely to accomplish their goals in the nursing program. It has been shown that students that are socialized and feel comfortable in a nursing program will have decreased attrition rates, and tend to complete the nursing program [5].
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