Mentoring new nurse practitioners to accelerate their development as primary care providers: a literature review

To provide a review of the literature regarding programs for mentoring new nurse practitioners (NPs) to accelerate their development as primary care providers.

A search was conducted in PubMed, Ovid, CINAHL, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

There is currently a critical shortage of primary care providers and an aging population requiring management of chronic medical conditions. Although NPs are trained in health promotion, disease prevention, and medical management and are well equipped to treat patients in primary care, the work can be overwhelming to the novice NP. A mentoring program could help the new NP further develop competencies and capabilities as a provider. However, there is a gap in the literature concerning any mentoring programs for novice NPs. Nonetheless, the literature review has provided a mentoring definition, program models, desired characteristics of nurse mentors, and barriers to mentoring programs. It has also described the benefits, goals and outcomes of a mentoring relationship. These insights from the literature provide a foundation for future mentoring program development.

A mentoring program for new NPs working in primary care could accelerate productivity, increase job satisfaction, and provide longevity in the primary care setting.