A unique partnership: Evaluating a Mentee-mentor relationship over two decades
As the United States approaches a looming nursing shortage crisis due to institutional attrition, limited resources for nursing education reaching capacity, increased professional care demands for the aging, and those with chronic disease processes, coupled with increases in job dissatisfaction, the value of a mentor-mentee experience cannot be overstated. Relationships between the mentor and mentee in nursing fertilize potential career growth and job satisfaction and fortify the intention to stay in the nursing profession. The strength of a nurse's mentoring experience has long-lasting benefits to professional patient care delivery and stability in the profession, as it develops strong and empathetic nurse educators, health care team players, and objective patient advocates. A positive mentoring experience can facilitate the novice to expert continuum for the professional nurse as a practitioner, administrator, manager, educator, or researcher. A mentor-mentee partnership is built on trust, respect, and a commitment to nurturing the relationship to fruition; where a mentor shares one's nursing experiences and expertise for the benefit of the mentee, as the latter achieves personal growth, career advancement, and consultation in nursing professions often acting in a teaching capacity or as a frontline care giver in varied patient care settings. The expectations and motivations highlighted throughout the partnership will yield a mutually beneficial relationship as the mentor influences and supports the mentee through the Mentee Phases of Development addressing self, others, and systems.
