Mentoring in Healthcare Mentoring in Healthcare
How to design mentoring that helps nurses and physicians start well and stay.
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
What this presentation covers
The nursing shortage
The world is short of nurses
WHO counts 29.8 million nurses and a shortage of 5.8 million.
Who will pass on experience
Many experienced nurses will soon retire
WHO warns that aging workforces can weaken mentoring capacity.
- Europe 21%21%
- Western Pacific 21%21%
- Americas 19%19%
- Africa 15%15%
- Eastern Mediterranean 9%9%
- South-East Asia 7%7%
Burnout among physicians
Over half of US physicians report burnout
Burnout symptoms rose from 45.5% to 54.4% of physicians in three years.
- 2011 45.5% with burnout symptoms
- 2014 54.4% with burnout symptoms
Burnout among nurses
Nurse burnout differs sharply by country
In 12 countries, nurse burnout ranged from 10% to 78%.
Who has a mentor
Many doctors never get a mentor
Fewer than half of medical students had a mentor in the studies reviewed.
- Medical students under 50% had a mentor
- Faculty, some fields under 20% had a mentor
- Women had a harder time finding one
How strong the evidence is
Build evaluation in from day one
Most of 39 studies were self-report surveys, so the evidence is still weak.
- Baseline retention and burnout before start
- Comparison group similar staff without a mentor
- Follow-up at 6 and 12 months
New graduate nurses
Give each new nurse a named preceptor
Across 76 studies, strong programs combined a named contact, mentoring and peer support.
- A named resource person
- Mentoring beyond the first weeks
- Peer groups of new graduates
- Preceptors chosen for quality, not numbers
What makes it work
Agree on expectations at the start
Failed relationships showed poor communication, low commitment and competition.
- Reciprocity
- Mutual respect
- Clear expectations
- Personal connection
- Shared values
Passing on clinical judgment
Pair senior nurses with new graduates
Experienced nurses can pass on what they know before they retire.
Sources
The research behind this presentation
- World Health Organization (2025) State of the world’s nursing 2025: Investing in education, jobs, leadership and service delivery World Health Organization, Geneva
- Shanafelt, T. D., Hasan, O., Dyrbye, L. N., Sinsky, C., Satele, D., Sloan, J. & West, C. P. (2015) Changes in burnout and satisfaction with work-life balance in physicians and the general US working population between 2011 and 2014 Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 90(12), 1600-1613
- Aiken, L. H., Sermeus, W., Van den Heede, K., Sloane, D. M., Busse, R., McKee, M. et al. (2012) Patient safety, satisfaction, and quality of hospital care: Cross sectional surveys of nurses and patients in 12 countries in Europe and the United States BMJ, 344, e1717
- Sambunjak, D., Straus, S. E. & Marušić, A. (2006) Mentoring in academic medicine: A systematic review JAMA, 296(9), 1103-1115
- Straus, S. E., Johnson, M. O., Marquez, C. & Feldman, M. D. (2013) Characteristics of successful and failed mentoring relationships: A qualitative study across two academic health centers Academic Medicine, 88(1), 82-89
- Rush, K. L., Janke, R., Duchscher, J. E., Phillips, R. & Kaur, S. (2019) Best practices of formal new graduate transition programs: An integrative review International Journal of Nursing Studies, 94, 139-158
Help new clinicians start well and stay
Name a preceptor, train mentors, and measure retention and burnout over time.