As nurse practitioners progress in their careers, opportunities to mentor younger nurses will surely arise. Mentoring and coaching new nurse practitioners can be rewarding for your career and personal goals, but it is also a serious commitment. Here, we consider the value of mentorship and how to decide if you want to become a nurse practitioner mentor.

What is involved in mentoring or coaching in nursing?

Being a healthcare coach typically involves supporting mentees in various areas of the profession. 

• Clinical practice: Nurse practitioner mentors may review case studies with new nurse practitioners to help them evaluate how to make decisions, recognize symptoms, and remember all the steps of evaluation. Nurse practitioners can share lessons they have learned on the job, techniques for improving one’s skills, and things to watch out for. You can also give mentees the space to ask questions and gain confidence in their skills.
• Career development: The job opportunities available to nurse practitioners are numerous. One important task of a nurse practitioner mentor is to help one’s mentee understand their options and choose what path is best for them. As a seasoned nurse practitioner, you can explain the pros and cons of a specific clinical setting or help identify niche healthcare topics with growing potential.
• Network building: Navigating the professional side of being a nurse practitioner may be scary to some people. Nurse practitioner mentors can help integrate new nurses into a professional association, introduce them to other helpful mentors, and show them the business side of the profession.

What are the benefits of becoming a nurse practitioner mentor?

Mentoring new nurse practitioners can be fulfilling, both professionally and personally. First, volunteering as a mentor or healthcare coach will look good on a resume. Second, it also provides you with the valuable experience of being like a supervisor to someone. If you have only worked as a nurse practitioner for a few years, you may not yet have experience supervising colleagues or managing a team. Having experience as a mentor may help you land a promotion in the future.

Being a nurse practitioner mentor can also have many personal benefits. It can help you remember important information as you work with a mentee to clarify their own understanding. It can also help you gain confidence in your own ability and expertise by teaching someone newer than you.

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Are there disadvantages to being a healthcare mentor?

One disadvantage to mentoring new nurse practitioners is the time and energy investment involved. Mentors need to be available to mentees to take calls, answer questions, and debrief after a hard day. This takes time out of your busy schedule and may feel like more work after you’ve finished your workday. 

Nurse practitioner mentors may also struggle with stress management, taking on the stress or issues of their mentee as their own. It is important to maintain proper boundaries to protect patient confidentiality, remain unbiased, and allow new nurse practitioners the value of learning on their own. Managing time commitments and establishing boundaries are important skills for everyone to develop, so this challenge may even increase the value of mentorship for the mentor.

How nurse practitioners can get started

If you are looking to become a mentor to a new nurse practitioner, there are a few places you can search for mentorship opportunities. 

• Your place of employment: Many companies have mentorship programs to help onboard new employees and provide continued guidance to new professionals in the field. You can reach out to your company’s human resources department to ask if they have a formal mentorship program or if they know of any new employees who may be interested in informal mentorship.
• Professional associations: Many professional nurse practitioner associations have mentorship programs to connect seasoned, expert nurses with new ones. You can join an association that offers a program or connect with new nurse practitioners at events and offer your support.
• Social networks: You can advertise yourself as a mentor or healthcare coach on LinkedIn and find a mentee through mutual connections on social media. 

How can I select a nurse practitioner mentee?

Finding a successful mentor-mentee relationship can take time. You need to consider if your communication styles match, what sorts of mentorship someone is looking for, and if your interests and experiences align. You also want to make sure your potential mentee is interested in your clinical setting, patient population, and career trajectory. 

This will ensure you can provide advice and guidance on topics that actually benefit your mentee. For example, if you are more interested in providing private practice business tips and a mentee needs to gain confidence in their clinical skills, you may not serve each other. You may be frustrated by their insecurity, and they may not be ready in their career to consider starting a practice.

On the other hand, you also need to consider your mentee’s level of experience, communication style, and schedule. It may seem small, but if your mentee works nights and wants to debrief at seven a.m. after their shift ends, that time may not work for you. Or maybe you want to communicate over email, but your mentee is looking to meet in person. These minor logistical concerns affect how accessible you can be to your mentee and how often you will connect. 

Finding a mentee whose schedule, communication style, and professional interests align with yours will ensure both parties are able to get the most out of the relationship.