Student nurses spend roughly 50% of their course, about 2300 hours, on clinical placements. This is all the time they have to develop the basic skills, knowledge and nursing judgement they need for the foundation of their nursing career. They also need to learn our special language, our nursing hierarchies and the special tricks and tools experienced nurses have developed over time.

It can be difficult and stressful to be a mentor but few roles are more rewarding. Try to remember that mentorship is more than just showing a student how to document or give an injection. You are helping to mould that student into a nurse, a potential colleague and someone who will one day care for patients just as you do. This student might be your nurse in a few years. If you as a mentor don’t invest in that student, you will fail not just that one individual but other nurses, patients and their families as well. Being a mentor is not just a huge responsibility to one student but to the entire health service and profession as well. The NMC recognises the importance of the mentorship role. The Code of professional conduct (NMC 2002) states:

Although it is yet to occur at the time of writing this, there is always the possibility that a student nurse will raise an NMC complaint against a nurse who fails in his or her role as a mentor.

As a former student yourself, you know the frustration and stress that the lack of a good mentor brings. It’s actually not that difficult to mentor – you already know the job and you care about nursing. All you need is to manage your time to include your student and the time they need. That can be a tall order at times, but it is possible. By knowing more about setting goals for your students, helping them plan their learning opportunities and understanding how people learn it will be easier. That these skills are also helpful when delivering patient education is a bonus that perhaps you hadn’t considered!

Mentorship can be time consuming and challenging. After all, as a nurse you have many responsibilities and having a fledgling nurse following you around, asking questions and taking twice as long to do things as it would take you to do them alone, can be a real burden. So why bother?

Just a note: personally I have found that what I have received by supporting students has far outweighed the efforts I put into providing that support. Let me share part of a letter I received not too long ago from a student who had been in our team: ‘After my last placement and all the grief I got, I was ready to give up, but you helped me realise where I was going wrong and now I know I’m going to be a good nurse …’ . Think about that the next time you work three weekends in a row because you are short staffed. Potential nurses are a resource we can’t afford to waste!

‘Amnesia studentia’ is an illness that can affect experienced staff. It is characterised by a marked inability to relate to the problems and experiences common to pre-registration nursing students. It is of concern because it is contagious …

All kidding aside, it’s important as a mentor to remember when you were a student, how you felt, how you were worried and how difficult it was when your mentor wasn’t as supportive as you needed.

In addition, you must remember that you and your student are part of a team of people and you have obligations to the team and the clinical environment.

First, get familiar with the paperwork and assessment documents used for student nurses in your area. Other mentors, placement educators/placement facilitators, link tutors, etc. should all have these documents, and there should be a student resource folder in your clinical area.

Second, think about what your area can offer student nurses. Some common areas are:

Some other areas that might not seem as obvious but are very important to students are:

Finally … knowing what you need to offer, think about how well the area supports students:

If the ward environment is lacking in its ability to support students, you as a mentor (or potential mentor) should raise them with your ward management. Think back: would you have wanted to be a student on a ward like yours? If the answer is no, then improving the area for students will improve it for you and your colleagues as well: we are all students, no matter where we are in our career, aren’t we?

Note: the NMC Code of professional conduct states that you have a duty to facilitate students’ learning. This means highlighting possible problems in the clinical area that might obstruct their ability to learn, or yours to teach.

The first thing to remember is that students will be placed in your clinical environment during different stages of their education. Newer students will probably need more help and guidance than more experienced students. It is important for you to balance your expectations against the student’s experience and level. Because each student is an individual, don’t just assume that a student at a particular stage in his or her course has a certain level of understanding or skill: you must discuss your expectations with the student.