A new mentoring program aims to encourage and support nursing students through their educational journey.
“The idea of mentoring at nursing started before Covid in a conversation with Linda Campbell, followed by a long delay and then we returned to the idea early last winter,莫妮卡·门罗说, 谁领导护理学生指导项目. “从她的经历中可以看出，这是她的内心, that students can benefit from mentors who are not faculty or staff but can enter the setting as ‘neutral’ supporters and people they can go to with concerns or frustrations.”
Campbell is the Dean and Professor of Nursing at 外围博彩平台.
“我很想有一个指导项目, 但是(门罗)直接走进来答应了,坎贝尔说。. “我们花了整整一个学期的时间来计划. 还有一学期的时间来宣传.”
Part of that planning included thinking about who else may be a good fit for the endeavor.
“Our first move was to recruit some others to join me,门罗说. “辛迪·波拉德, WP校友和前雇员帕蒂·迪肯, 退休护士, 我们都愿意加入吗.”
波拉德与WPU关系密切, 她在哪里获得学士和硕士学位, 在这里工作了24年. She was the Director of Student Accounts and 金融援助, and an instructor. She retired in 2020 to care for her husband, who was battling Parkinson’s Disease.
“I am the mother of a son who works for Kaiser and Providence as a CRNA (Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesiologist),波拉德说. “I know this is a difficult course of studies and we all need someone to breathe positivity into our goals.”
Deacon enjoyed a 44-year career in nursing at Legacy 健康 and was eager to support the next generation of nurses.
“Nursing is a valued career option and necessary for our community,迪肯说. “The opportunities for students to explore within nursing are broad which allows for individual strengths and preferences. It is a privilege to encourage and support students who are pursuing their nursing degree.”
While the women involved say they did have encouragement during their education, none had the type of mentoring they hope to provide through this program.
门罗说:“我们没有和学生配对. “这些联系随着时间的推移而发展. 我们带来了披萨，和学生们混在一起. We wrote notes and included personal contact information, that we handed to students that were interested in what we had to offer.”
护理项目经理, 凯瑟琳·芬奇, helped facilitate interactions by letting the mentors know when students were in the building.
“We would hang out for two to three hours and open conversation,门罗说. “In May during a testing time we brought food to the common area and spoke words of kindness and encouragement. 学生们都很紧张和焦虑!”
随着项目的发展, the trio may shift their approach to the needs and preferences of the students.
“One day we three stepped into a classroom where a few students were sitting in despair and sadness because they had failed an exam,门罗说. “We listened and said what we could to help them see that this was a temporary situation, 他们会克服障碍. Tears flowed and having people who listened and cheered them on seemed to ease the situation.”
The experience was a positive experience for the mentors as well.
“能够在现场与学生交谈, 尤其是在有挑战性的考试之后, 是有益的,迪肯说. “Sometimes it is good to have a neutral person to talk with in order to help move on to the next challenge.”
Though the mentoring program is still in its early stages, they have already been able to see students make it through to graduation.
“At (the Pinning Ceremony) in May we saw some of those who were struggling on that test fail day,门罗说.
Each of the mentors has enjoyed connecting with students and looks forward to continuing this work.
“We are trailblazers for this program and for now are in a trial-and-error period learning what works and doesn’t work,门罗说. “关键是要在场并建立关系. Our first event was to sit in a room with students who were invited to meet us. Each of us talked about our life journeys and why we were interested in being mentors. There was time allowed for questions directed to each of us.”
Pollard said she thinks sometimes just being present with a student helps keep them motivated.
“I also think that it isn’t always necessary to spend a lot of time,波拉德说. “根据我的经验, a sentence of encouragement carried me a long way in staying the course and finishing both my undergraduate and graduate degrees. 我希望我能为我们的WP学生做到这一点, 我希望这将在未来成为现实.”
A mentorship program was not available to Deacon either when she was in school, but she and a group of other nursing students supported each other.
“As a nursing leader I had opportunities to precept nursing students in their leadership rotation,迪肯说. “It was always a highlight for me to encourage students, share my knowledge and see the profession through their eyes and life experiences. I consider my nursing career as a calling and treasure the patients, 家庭, 以及我能够一起工作的团队成员. It is a joy to experience the excitement of WPU nursing students as they fulfill their dream to become the nurses of tomorrow.”