Evaluation of a mentorship programme for specialist practitioners.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Education
• Oncology Nursing
• Palliative Care

Background:

• Role transition into specialist cancer and palliative care presents challenges for healthcare professionals.
• Mentorship is a recognized strategy to support practitioners during these transitions.
• The Macmillan National Institute of Education developed a mentorship training program.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a mentorship training program for specialist cancer and palliative care practitioners.
• To assess the program's impact on mentors, mentees, and service development.
• To determine if the program met the needs of participants.

Main Methods:

• A 12-month mentorship training program involving a two-day workshop and action learning groups.
• Evaluation using self-report questionnaires with open and closed questions.
• Data collected from mentors, mentees, line managers, and service development managers.

Main Results:

• A strong consensus existed on the importance of mentorship during role transition.
• The program was effective in preparing and supporting mentors.
• Positive outcomes included benefits for service development through supported new practitioners.

Conclusions:

• The mentorship training program was positively evaluated by all stakeholder groups.
• Both the workshop and action learning components were deemed effective.
• The program successfully supported role transition and contributed to service development in specialist care.