May 15, 2009
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Registered Nurses Suzanne Gabert (left) and Tiffany Middelkoop (right) are protégés of Jackie Boschman (centre) in the 6000 Unit of Royal University Hospital.
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Jackie Boschman never wanted to be a teacher. Her goal was to be a nurse. She is that. But she’s also a teacher of sorts. As a mentor in the Nurse Mentorship Program, she has the task of guiding new nurses in the workings of the unit and the job itself.
Boschman has been a registered nurse for 22 years, 12 of those in the cardiology unit of Royal University Hospital. She says at the time, she didn’t have the supports she needed to adjust to a new work environment. That’s why she wanted to be a mentor.
“I mentor at my church as well, so it’s a natural thing for me. I like to see young people succeed so that’s part of it,” she says. “I learn from them as well. I don’t get stuck in a rut, and with all the questions they ask , I’m forced to stop and think why I do the things I do.”
Her protégé, Suzanne Gabert welcomed the opportunity to work with a mentor “When I graduated, I felt there was still a lot I needed to learn about the workings of the unit and I wanted to have someone I could turn to when I needed help. It is easier to learn the unit and not quite as awkward when you walk into a new workplace not knowing a single person or the routines.”
The Nursing Mentorship Program and the New Graduate Nurse Job Program operate in Saskatoon Health Region and Heartland Health Region. One year after starting, the programs are gaining momentum and popularity. From April 2008 to March 2009, the mentorship program paired 68 new graduates with mentors. More than 100 graduates in April 2009 requested mentorship.
“The benefits for new nurses to be in this program are primarily related to easing the transition into the workplace and feeling supported”, says Francis Loos consultant for Saskatchewan Health. “They appreciate having an available expert role model who they can go to for help.”
The mentor/protégé relationship can be established by a manager approaching a potential mentor to ask her to volunteer; new graduates can ask someone they are familiar with to mentor them; or a graduate can approach someone they have heard about and request that mentor. “In this case, a graduate may have heard through word of mouth that this particular mentor is very supportive and wish to have them as their mentor,” says Loos.
Says Loos, “Originally the program was perceived to be optional. Now, new graduates and mentors are recognizing that it is "value added" and can contribute to easing the transition of the new graduate as well as providing benefits for the mentor, ward and nursing in general.” The word is out and almost all new graduates are choosing mentorship along with the graduate nurse job program.
Back on the cardiology unit, Gabert has completed her mentorship with Boschman, and Boschman is mentoring Tiffany Middelkoop, a graduate from the nursing program only a month ago. Middelkoop says about half her graduating class has taken advantage of the mentorship program. “It feels good having a go-to person. It makes the transition from school to the workplace much easier.”
Even though Gabert has completed the official mentorship, she knows that if she still needs help or support, Boschman will be there to provide it. Says Gabert, “I would love to be the mentor one day.”
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