Mentoring as a Professional Development Strategy for GRN Transition to Practice

Running head: MENTORSHIP IN TRANSITION TO PRACTICE FOR THE GRN
MENTORING AS A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (PDS) FOR THE
GRADUATE REGISTERED NURSE (GRN) TRANSITION TO PRACTICE
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MENTORSHIP IN TRANSITION TO PRACTICE FOR THE GRN 2
Introduction
Newly graduated nurses usually have no experience at all concerning the workplace
environment. During their transition to practice as GRN, they encounter several challenges such
as occupational stress, overwhelming workload, lack of interpersonal relationships, transition
shock, and inadequacy. The transition period is a critical period whereby the graduate nurses
require to consolidate their necessary skills and knowledge for the task ahead. As such,
mentorship programs and training has been effective in helping the new graduate to transition to
a stable workforce efficiently. Mentorship is vital in reducing the Reality Shock (Clipper &
Cherry, 2015).
Mentorship as a development strategy tool for a GRN
Mentorship has got different definitions, although the definitional clarity is a problem, the
universally accepted definition of mentorship concerning GRN revolves around the dyadic
relationship between a mentor (more experienced) and a protégé (less experienced -GRN). The
mentor employs the use his or her experience and the acquired knowledge to enrich the personal
as well as professional development of his or her mentee (protégé) who is less experienced since
he or she is a newly registered nurse (Zhang, Qian, Wu, Wen, & Zhang, 2016)
The significance of mentorship in transition to practice for the GRN
Mentoring programs that have been employed in mentoring GRN as they transition to
practice have displayed numerous benefits. Mentorship has been shown to foster high self-
esteem, enhance self-confidence as well as defining the career trajectories of the nurses in the
future (Piccinini, Hudlun, Branam, & Moore, 2018). Once the new nurses are offered effective
mentorship, their transition to becoming fully equipped nurses in their practice becomes easy.

MENTORSHIP IN TRANSITION TO PRACTICE FOR THE GRN 3
The turnover rate of nurses who have received mentorship is low compared to those that have not
undergone any coaching, thereby, reducing extra organizational costs to institutions.
Furthermore, it offers personal satisfaction thereby influencing career development
positively (Tiew, Koh, Creedy, & Tam, 2017). Most people agree that mentorship influences
significantly the career function and practice of a newly registered nurse (Chen & Lou, 2014).
How a nurse will advance professionally through the organization as well as their developmental
behaviors are tied to the mentorship they have received. Mentorship offers exposure and
visibility, protection, and coaches one on how to handle situations in their careers. The mentee as
such becomes more self-resourceful and self-reliant. Mentorship also influences the
psychological roles of the GRN significantly. The interpersonal relationship created helps foster
a sense of self-worth and ability towards their work (Edward, Hawker, Carrier, & Rees, 2015).
Therefore, despite the challenging task, for instance, changing carriers or working in adverse
environments, they can still cope.
Implications of mentorship on work-life balance and developing resilience for the
GRN
Many GRN undergoes through numerous difficulties as they transition to practice. The
academic environment they were before is entirely different as compared to the practice setting.
Some of the challenges they face include; theory-practice gap, cognitive dissonance, and reality
shock (Hofler & Thomas, 2016). As such, mentorship is crucial in helping them cope with such
challenges, and thereby develop resilience in their work. Work-life balance refers to how one
divides his/her focus and time between family/ leisure and work. The work of a nurse is usually
hectic; thus, they need to understand how they will balance between the two (Boamah, Read, &
Spence, 2017). Resilience, on the other hand, will determine how the GRN will be able to cope