The Roles of the Mentor and of the Preceptor in Nursing

The breast feeding profession has found itself under siege in recent decades, veneering an in competent number of students entering the field to replace those individuals who argon release it. For this reason it is incumbent on those individuals already employed as nurses to aid the newly graduated nurses entering the field, easing their transition and instigateing with keeping.Both learns and fathers are practicing nurses who have put themselves into these supportive roles, ensuring that the conditions in the clinical environment stimulate a safe and efficient workplace amenable to appropriate breast feeding care. As a result of this great and continued need for the retention of new and newly advanced nurses, both mentors and fathers are of overwhelming tax to the profession. The roles that these individuals play, however, are quite different, despite their equal value in nursing education.Mentors in Nursing PracticeMentors have long been part of nonrecreational developme nt in other fields, dating back to antediluvian Greece and ancient Rome and, perhaps, beyond. Morton-Cooper and Palmer (2000), citing Hamilton, state that it was fully expected that the youths would learn from and emulate the value of their assigned mentor. The term mentor became synonymous with wise, faithful guardian and teacher (37).Some of the assumptions associated with a mentor and mentee relationship are that the mentee will finally beat self-directed through with(predicate) guidance, rather than other-directed and that the mentee will eventually become more performance oriented through the development of critical view skills developed over time in practice, rather than relying on the noesis obtained in school (Morton-Cooper & Palmer, 2000). It is up to the mentor to help the mentee develop these skills through a collaborative effort, acting as a guide to assist the mentee with achieving his or her potential.Preceptors in Nursing PracticeLike mentors, preceptors are ad roit clinicians who possess a broad body of knowledge. Many nurses who excel at their nursing practice behind be preceptors, even if they do not possess the teaching skills to be mentors. Unlike mentors who work closely with their mentees, preceptors are individuals that model behavior for the learners on the clinical floor. In addition, preceptors observe the learners and examine and evaluate the behaviors and activities that they observe. Preceptors have what efficacy be termed a quasi-mentoring role in terms of students, providing support when the student needs it, rather than the sidereal day to day guidance provided by the mentor. According to Morton-Cooper and Palmer (2000) the lack of understanding of the preceptors role allowed it to be conf employ with that of the mentor (p. 47).Learning ContractA learnedness contract is a formal tool apply in mentoring situations. This contract makes provisions for resource allocations, establishes the relationship between mentor and mentee, and provides sufficient and useful assessment of the learners progress (Morton-Cooper & Palmer, 2000). In addition, preceptor learning contracts that set the learning objectives held by both the learner and the preceptor are useful documents, particularly in the case of rotating schedules and other difficulties that might prevent the preceptor and learner from being on the floor at the same time.The learning contract can as well be used as a learning diary, in which the learner records the emotions connected with the clinical experience (Morton-Cooper & Palmer, 2000). Because clinical nursing experience is an experiential form of learning, having records of the learning process and the emotions associated with it can provide valuable insight in companionship with the environment in which the nurse is learning and working. In addition, this contract can be used to provide a roadmap that might be used to measure the learners commitment to the program.ConclusionThe preceptor and the mentor are both valuable members of the teaching team, who act in union with the nurse educators classroom instruction. The learning contract is also a valuable learning and teaching tool that can be used to direct both the teaching process and the learning process, as well. ReferenceMorton-Cooper, A., & Palmer, A. (2000). Mentoring, preceptorship and clinical supervision A guide to professional roles in clinical practice. Malden, MA Blackwell Publishing, Inc.