An innovation in a diploma program: the future potential of mentorship in nursing

This paper reports on the processes used to facilitate the implementation of a mentored elective placement for final year nursing students and the results of the evaluative phase of this innovation. The mentors were experienced clinical practitioners who formed mentored relationships with final year students in a selected area of nursing practice and had been prepared for their role by a program organized and conducted by the Faculty. The evaluation phase incorporated the multi-method approach of triangulation to gather data during the implementation phase of the mentored placement. The results tend to be strongly supportive of a continuation of this innovation and were based on data gathered from both the mentor and mentee perspectives. The final evaluation tool aimed to assist in clarifying the role of the mentor and was administered to the mentees at the completion of the placement. Factor analyses of the mentees' responses generated four underlying constructs to mentorship, namely, the quality of the relationship, professional role acquisition, socialisation into the work role, and a need to promote mentor relationships in nursing.