Mentoring Nurse Practitioners in a Hospital Setting

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Healthcare Professional Development
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Nursing philosophy and medical models create challenges for new nurse practitioners (NPs).
• Mentoring aids role transition for healthcare professionals but is understudied in NP practice.
• Bridging the gap between nursing philosophy and medical practice is essential for NP role integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a grounded theory of mentoring for newly graduated nurse practitioners (NPs) in hospital settings.
• To provide a theoretical framework for understanding and supporting NP role transition.
• To address the gap in research regarding NP-specific mentoring.

Main Methods:

• Grounded theory methodology with purposive and theoretical sampling.
• Semistructured interviews with 16 participants (8 mentors, 8 mentees).
• Three-phase analysis of transcribed interview data following Corbin and Strauss.

Main Results:

• The core category identified was "defining self."
• Key emergent categories included forming and developing the mentoring relationship, and mentoring outcomes.
• Data revealed distinct phases and components of the mentoring process for new NPs.

Conclusions:

• A structured mentoring program can significantly ease the transition for new nurse practitioners.
• The developed theory offers a framework for creating and evaluating NP mentoring initiatives.
• Operationalizing the theory's categories can lead to effective mentoring program evaluation tools.