Does Having Been Mentored Affect Subsequent Mentoring?

Area of Science:

• Mentorship Studies
• Academic Development
• Faculty Training

Background:

• Effective mentorship is often assumed but rarely formally taught or empirically validated.
• The connection between receiving quality mentorship and becoming an effective mentor is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if mentorship received by scholars in the Nurse Faculty Scholars (NFS) program influenced their subsequent mentoring practices.
• To understand the impact of prior mentoring experiences on future mentorship approaches.

Main Methods:

• Survey of scholars from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Nurse Faculty Scholars (NFS) program.
• Utilized the Mentorship Effectiveness Scale and open-ended questions to assess changes in views on mentoring.
• Collected qualitative insights on scholars' perceptions and experiences.

Main Results:

• 42% of scholars responded to the survey.
• Mentored scholars reported increased inclination to provide professional guidance, constructive criticism, resources, and to challenge mentees.
• Scholars recognized the power of mentoring, gained insights into effective practices, and became more open to diverse mentoring styles and individual development plans.

Conclusions:

• Evidence suggests that effective mentoring does foster future effective mentoring.
• Mentorship experiences create a lasting impression and a sense of obligation to 'pay it forward'.
• The study highlights the cyclical and influential nature of mentorship in professional development.