- Title
- The experience of registered nurses who mentor undergraduate nursing students in the Australian rural context
- Creator
- Bowen, Lynette Joy
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- On rural clinical placements, undergraduate nursing students work alongside registered nurses sharing their patient allocation. The registered nurse facilitates the student’s clinical learning, providing opportunities for the student to translate theoretical knowledge into clinical practice. Despite the challenges of the rural context, registered nurses partner with universities to support and mentor students. This study explored the experience of registered nurses who mentored undergraduate nursing students on clinical placement in a rural context. It identified communication and information exchange with universities as a frustrating aspect of the mentoring experience, which being amenable to change, was addressed with an intervention. The study was set on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia and drew participants from two Local Health Districts. The study adopted a sequential mixed methods design. Phase 1 used a qualitative descriptive method. Nine registered nurses consented to participate in semi-structured interviews. Using content analysis, four Categories and eight sub-categories emerged from data. The four Categories were ‘The challenge of mentoring’, ‘Supporting students and facilitating learning’, ‘Supporting registered nurses who mentor undergraduate nursing students’ and ‘The rewards of mentoring’. The Categories and their associated sub-categories described the mentor’s experience of supporting a student on clinical placement in the rural context. The Phase 1 findings were then used to develop an intervention designed to provide information directly to mentors. A questionnaire was developed from the Phase 1 findings and relevant literature, to evaluate the intervention and further understand the mentoring experience. The cross sectional survey was conducted using a pre- and post-intervention design. The questionnaire contained six Domains that measured the mentor experience and included 14 items designed to measure the effectiveness of the intervention that were combined to produce a best practice score. The study sample was 666 registered nurses across two intervention hospital sites and one control hospital site. The pre- and post-intervention response rates were 9% and 10% respectively. The intervention was delivered on 14 occasions to 66 participants at the intervention study sites. In the post-intervention questionnaire, 17% of the respondents (n= 11) who had attended the intervention returned a questionnaire. Data suggested some improvement in the best practice score as a result of the intervention. Four Domains, ‘Mentor expectations’, ‘Mentor attributes’, ‘Recommendations about clinical Placement’ and ‘Rewards’ were scored consistently highly across all participant groups. The Domains ‘Resources and support’ and ‘Challenges associated with mentoring’ were consistently scored lower. The questionnaire was tested for internal consistency and validity. A revised instrument suitable for evaluating similar interventions is a contribution of this study. The intervention noted some improvement; however the small number of participants who responded to the questionnaire and had received the intervention made it difficult to draw any strong conclusions. Attendance at the intervention was limited by clinical demands in ward areas, suggesting that further consideration be given to the approach to communication and information exchange. The description of the mentoring experience presented in this thesis suggests that registered nurses are overall positive about their role. However, a number of challenges were identified that detract from the mentoring experience. Worthy of note is the generalist nature of rural nursing and its impact on the mentoring experience. The influence of ward acuity, skills mix and staffing levels also influences the rural mentor’s experience.
- Subject
- mentor; undergraduate nursing student; rural; mixed methods
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1295880
- Identifier
- uon:19145
- Rights
- Copyright 2015 Lynette Joy Bowen
- Language
- eng
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
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| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Abstract | 347 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Thesis | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |