Workplace learning for nurses is an important part of the nursing career as it provides an opportunity for the nursing students to develop nursing skills that they use or apply in different health care settings including forensic facilities, community health centers, palliative care facilities and mental health care facilities among others. Nurse students who undergo workplace learning have the opportunity to consolidate their knowledge and skills and practice different activities that are relevant to the delivery of patient care. Most importantly, students participating in workplace learning have an opportunity to develop their professionalism in health care upon completing their nursing course. Workplace learning can be done in the form of such processes or strategies as coaching, mentoring, clinical supervision and preceptorship among others.
The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the importance of mentoring and coaching in nursing while also demonstrating how they can be integrated into the clinical practice. The paper will also explain how information on mentoring and coaching can be used in different clinical settings. Also, I will explain how I would lobby the local government or the legislators in the health care sector for funds to support the mentoring and coaching for newly registered nurses and those professionals moving to new specialties. As a nursing student, I understand that the nursing profession is challenging and, therefore, requires nurses to gain knowledge, experience, and professionalism in the delivery of health care. Therefore, I chose to discuss mentoring and coaching as I believe they are essential tools that I would benefit from in terms of gaining knowledge, developing new skills and enhancing my professionalism in the clinical practice.
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Justification of study
With the goal of improving the public health, the government and other stakeholders have focused on addressing the various challenges that exist in the healthcare industry preventing effective delivery of care. One main challenge has been the lack of sufficient quality to help in implementing clinical practice resulting in inconsistencies by the health practitioners such as medical doctors, physicians and nurse practitioners (Kilgallon & Thompson, 2012). By addressing the inconsistencies by these healthcare practitioners, better health outcomes will be achieved. One such way that the inconsistencies can be curbed is by enacting mentoring and coaching programs.
Importance of mentoring and coaching
Mentoring and coaching in nursing are necessary as they facilitate the transfer of knowledge as well as equipping other nurses with the skills needed for them to carry out their duties effectively. The process involves inspiring, teaching, directing and leading individuals new to the nursing field so that they can adjust to the various demands of their role (Kilgallon & Thompson, 2012). The process is also essential as it enables maintenance of competency and promotes professional practice. Understanding the role mentoring and coaching plays in enhancing the development of the workforce is important as it acts as the first stage towards improving the nursing profession and the quality provided at the point of care.
Mentoring and coaching involve interaction between the two parties whereby knowledge is transferred from one individual to the other. One of the parties is normally well equipped and aware of how to consistently provide quality care services whereas the other individual is in need of guidance to improve the performance. The interpersonal relationships that exist in coaching facilitate the transfer of skills, actions, and abilities that can be regarded to be most relevant to the nursing profession. The strategy of knowledge dissemination differs from other strategies in that the coach shows the trainee how the various activities can be carried out through nurturing their skills and talent (Kilgallon & Thompson, 2012). It benefits both the coaches and the clients, who are being trained, thus enabling career development.
Mentoring and coaching are of crucial importance to nursing for various reasons. First, through the placement programs, the practitioners who are not as consistent with the provisions can meet statutory and regulatory requirements (Scott & Spouse, 2013). These standards are provided to acts as a measure of the minimum expected quality of care to be offered to the individuals under their jurisdiction. It is also an essential strategy to recognize and appreciate the diversity of learning opportunities in the health and social care environment.
As the technology continues to advance, more ways in which technological tools can be used to facilitate better care are being discovered. To achieve consistency while using technological tools as there was when applying the traditional tool, it is essential to regularly undertake training and developmental programs (Kilgallon & Thompson, 2012). Mentoring and coaching help practitioners to work in a rapidly changing healthcare setting enabling continuity and consistency in the provision of care.
Coaching and mentoring involve an interactive exchange between individuals from different fields in the healthcare setting. By engaging with practitioners from other fields, mentoring and coaching enable nurses to adopt a multi-professional approach thus appreciation of the unpredictable and dynamic nature of healthcare (Kubus, 2010). Such will, in turn, facilitate the provision of effective care to the patients since all aspects will be taken into consideration. The learning that is achieved once one is enrolled in the coaching and mentorship programs helps one to meet the learning needs thus matching personal goals with those of the nursing profession (Kubus, 2010). When the goals are matched, the employees are more motivated as they feel more valued and appreciated.
Mentoring and coaching are also important in that they facilitate the use of evidence-based practice. Evidence-based practice has proven to be more effective in improving the quality of care being provided by promoting inquiry of what is already proven to work and what has been proven to be ineffective (Scott & Spouse, 2013). The strategy also improves the confidence and autonomy of the learner in carrying out their duties. High level of confidence enables more accurate results, therefore, enabling an improvement in the level of job satisfaction (Grossman, 2013). Since coaching does not focus on teaching but rather on establishing a firm collaborative relationship between the coach and the learner, the coach and the learner both benefit from the interpersonal interaction (Scott & Spouse, 2013).
Integrating coaching and mentoring into clinical practice
Integrating mentoring and coaching into clinical practice will help in reaping the various benefits provided by the strategies. The strategies are meant at ensuring consistency in the provision of care through the creation of a basis for decision making. To facilitate effective integration of mentoring and coaching into the clinical practice, it is essential for all parties to understand the pattern of decision making (Kubus, 2010). Since cognition and judgment govern decision-making process, identifying the cognitive behavior adopted by an individual will help in determining how effective coaching and mentoring will be integrated into the healthcare setting.
Once the cognitive behavior of the learner is identified, an understanding of the learning opportunities that are available can help in more effective placement. Such needs can be identified through engagement with the mentor or the coach as he/she is in possession of more knowledge and expertise than the learner (Kubus, 2010). When an individual is aware of the expected learning opportunities from a mentorship and coaching program, they tend to be more motivated as the goals of the program matches with the personal needs.
It is also essential to involve other members from related fields to help in the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach to the strategy. Such members not only help in giving a multidimensional and dynamic approach towards the healthcare setting but also make a crucial contribution towards the learning needs (Scott & Spouse, 2013).
Once the steps are taken into consideration, the learners should recognize the importance of safety in a clinical setting and involve the mentor in those procedures and areas they have not undertaken previously or the ones they have some uncertainties (Grossman, 2013). A record should also be kept to enable the mentor and the learner to keep check of the development of confidence and competencies thus assess the success of the implementation of coaching and mentorship.
Lobbying government for funds
The Implementation of coaching and mentorship relies heavily on the availability of funds to support the developmental programs. Such fund can be obtained by lobbying the legislators, who are in charge of enacting laws, and the local government. Such lobbying either to the legislators or the local government can be made by taking several steps. One such step is by ensuring that the message to be delivered is brief but also on point to avoid junk messages (Grossman, 2013). In the field, the focus may be the need to fund healthcare institutions, so they implement developmental programs.
The manner of approaching the government official is also crucial as it determines whether they will pay attention to the message about to be delivered or will just ignore it. The recommended strategy is to make an approach through the use of local leader or other prominent individuals with knowledge in the field. Such an individual may be a leading health practitioner with a strong reputation (Kubus, 2010).
Once an approach has been made, making a link on how the issue affects the official either directly or indirectly is essential. Such may involve explaining to the government official why most of the health practitioners are in need of further coaching and mentorship and the negative effect of failing to offer such placement programs (Grossman, 2013). The idea should also be linked to a government program or goal such as the improvement of the public health. By explaining to the official how the coaching and mentorship can help increase the national health, they will be more attracted and supportive of the program. Relating how the program can act as a solution to major problems currently being experienced will also help increase the support thus act as a crucial lobbying strategy.
References
Grossman, S. (2013). Mentoring in nursing: A dynamic and collaborative process . New York, NY: Springer Pub. Co.
Kilgallon, K., & Thompson, J. (2012). Mentoring in nursing and healthcare: A practical approach . Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.
Kubus, P. (2010). Lead!: Becoming an effective coach and mentor to your nursing staff . Marblehead, MA: HCPro.
Scott, I., & Spouse, J. (2013). Practice based learning in nursing, health and social care: Mentorship, facilitation and supervision . Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
