Mentoring students in doctoral nursing programs: A scoping review.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Academic Mentorship
• Doctoral Studies

Background:

• Mentorship is crucial for developing scholarship and skills in academic environments.
• Mentoring is a vital strategy for students in doctoral nursing programs (PhD, DNP, DNS, EdD).

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine mentorship experiences of doctoral nursing students and their academic mentors.
• To identify positive and negative mentor attributes and student-mentor relationship dynamics.
• To assess the benefits and barriers associated with academic mentorship.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review of empirical studies published up to September 2021.
• Searches conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, and Scopus databases.
• Inclusion of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies in English on doctoral nursing student mentorship.

Main Results:

• 30 articles reported on mentoring relationships, experiences, benefits, and barriers.
• Students highly valued mentors who were role models, respectful, supportive, inspiring, and good communicators.
• Benefits included improved research, writing, publication, networking, retention, timely completion, and career readiness; barriers included access, mentor skills, and compatibility.

Conclusions:

• A gap exists between student expectations and the reality of mentorship, highlighting needs for competency, support, and compatibility.
• Further research is needed to understand mentorship program characteristics and mentor experiences.
• Improvements in mentoring doctoral nursing students are suggested.