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Your Nurse Mentorship Match Workbook: What You’ll Find Inside

Are you a nurse or nurse practitioner aspiring to delve further into your favorite specialty or seeking to expand your entrepreneurial endeavors? Do you understand the invaluable benefits of mentorship, but find yourself strapped for time and unsure of where to begin your search? This comprehensive e-book was designed specifically with you in mind. It has over 30 pages packed with actionable insights, 13 expertly crafted questions and answers, and 3 ready-to-use scripts for reaching out to potential mentors via email, phone, or social media. The 30 questions and answers can be repurposed for admission letters, scholarship applications, preceptors, and future employment.

Expert Advice

After 15 years in healthcare, more than 10 years in nursing, and an academic background in biology and biomedical engineering, I understand the unique challenges and demands faced by students and experienced clinicians like yourself. That's why this workbook was designed to fast-track your success, guide you step-by-step towards finding the perfect mentor who can help you achieve your goals. If your favorite gold medal athlete needs a support team, so do you!

Transparency

Recently, Andrews Nyantakyi, BSN, BSc, RN, a critical care nurse, shared a personal story on LinkedIn about how he is finally overcoming imposter syndrome two years into his nursing journey. He emphasized that new and experienced nurses need emotional support. He provided one solution utilized in the military called debriefing. It would allow nurses to receive feedback about tough cases and what they did right and wrong, but more importantly, emotional support. He specifically gave a call-to-action to experienced nurses and hospital systems.

Debriefing

In response, I stated that the clinical setting is not designed for the nurse learner. It is all about the patient. So, in agreement with Andrews, I also think debriefing would provide one of the missing links when it comes to nurse education and training. Specifically, we need support outside of the patient encounter and setting where the person supporting us is not managing competing responsibilities; genuinely wants to be present; and has the tools to address the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, and financial stressors of being a student and/or provider. Like Andrews, my first realization of this need was as a nurse in the neurosurgical intensive care unit (ICU). I experienced it again, several months ago as a new nurse practitioner. More than ten years and two degrees later, and not much has changed about nursing clinical training.

My Experience: Neuro ICU

I was a baby nurse in the neuro ICU and a participant in a 1-year residency program. Nursing was my second degree and I had plenty of years of work experience, even as a supervisor. I was assigned two primary preceptors, but ended up working with more than 10 different nurses during a 4-month orientation. In the beginning, I only worked on the unit once a week because of residency courses. Once I did work consecutive shifts, I was given a new patient assignment each time. We all know the best learning occurs when you have the same assignment and can experience continuity of care. Continuity of care doesn’t just benefit the patient; it benefits the nurse who can:

-Work on time management

-Develop critical thinking skills

-Leverage their experience with one particular patient

-Enjoy a shorter report and handoff

-Build trust and rapport with the patient and caregivers

-Better collaborate with the physician, respiratory therapist, the pharmacy, and support staff

-Better predict complications and reduce errors

Untraditional Path

My preceptors never checked in on me as a person, they never asked about my life outside of that unit, and I would bet they didn’t know my last name and definitely wouldn’t recognize me today. The seasoned charge nurse led the group in decreasing my trust in the nurse educator and making snide comments about my performance and the other new nurses.

The secretary befriended me and continues to be a genuine supporter of my work to this day. The nurses on that unit were brilliant, they had great rapport with the physicians, they taught me what I needed to know about patient care, and they saved lives every single day. They did help me become an exceptional clinician who pays attention to detail and is patient with clinicians who I orient or precept. They are also the reason I always asked nurses I oriented if they urinated at least once in a 12-hour shift. They motivated me to become nurse of the year and exceed even my own expectations. Should I have expected them to be everything I needed? Absolutely not. If you’re a new nurse, I want you to know not to expect it either.

Needless to say, I didn’t stay on that unit. I know in nursing, the ICU and ED are held to high regards, and I understand why. I also know, there’s a generational debate about whether new nurses should start in the ICU, and as a new nurse I felt confident starting in the ICU was absolutely okay. But I found my greatest support, was able to experience the most growth, and learn the most from my patients and families as a night, med-tele nurse. I will never be able to thank those nurses enough who welcomed me with a smile and never made me feel bad for asking a question. The simplest gestures leave lasting impressions.

Virtual Preceptor Co.

Nursing schools and healthcare entities are not designed to give us everything we need. We need outside clinical support in the form of mentorship, coaching, and community. These examples are the primary driving force that motivated me to create the Your Nurse Mentorship Match Workbook and the Virtual Preceptor Co. Download a digital copy of Your Nurse Mentorship Match Workbook today and embark on the path to realizing your full potential! After you've invested in everything else, it's time to invest in yourself.

Tell your children, students, neighbors, and classmates about the Virtual Preceptor Co! The growing list of resources you’ll find there are designed for aspiring and practicing nurses and nurse practitioners. They make a great gift for graduation, Nurses’ Week, Nurse Practitioner Week, and to help those trying to decide if they want to pursue a career in the healthcare industry. I’m always happy to hop on a call or speak to a group about nursing, graduate school, professional development and personal branding. I can be reached at kmadison@mahoganydermatology.com. If I’m not a good fit, the Your Nurse Mentorship Match Workbook will help you identify the characteristics of the person who is!

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Kimberly Madison, DNP, AGPCNP-BC

I am a nurse practitioner with a passion for writing, entrepreneurship, education, and mentorship. I created this blog to share my journey as source of motivation and as a blueprint as you embark on your journey. Most importantly, I’m looking forward to increasing access to dermatology education and clinical training for aspiring and practicing nurse practitioners. I invite you to view the mission and vision statement on the homepage to see how we can best partner to make our dreams align.

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