Abstract:
Mentorship is known to address the challenges Newly Registered Nurses are
likely to face during their transition into independent nursing practice and
provide a smooth sail towards the attainment of professional growth and
development. This study sought to explore stakeholders’ views about the
integration of mentorship into new nurses’ transition into nursing practice. A
qualitative-exploratory-descriptive design was used in this study. In all, 15
participants (6 nurse managers, 8 newly registered nurses, and 1 regional officer
of the NMCG) were purposively selected. Data was collected using a structured
interview guide, and analysed by means of thematic analysis. The study found
the following: First, experienced nurses mentor new nurses by teaching,
guiding, and providing career support to them. Second, training programme for
experienced nurses, motivating experienced nurses, and formulating a policy to
guide mentorship facilitate mentoring practices. Third, lack of knowledge, lack
of motivation for experienced nurses, lack of time, work pressure and poor
attitude of newly qualified nurses were considered barriers to mentorship.
Fourth, friendly mentor-mentee relationship, effective assignment of mentees
to mentors, awareness creation, formulating and implementing a mentorship
policy may guarantee the integration of a mentorship program into nursing
profession of Ghana. Essentially, the study findings provide valuable
information on experienced nurses’ mentoring activities, the facilitators and
barriers to mentorship, as well as the strategies for incorporating mentorship
into the profession of nursing in Ghana, which could lead to the integration of
mentorship into newly registered nurses’ transition into independent nursing
practice in Ghana.
