Mentoring

Building Successful Mentoring Relationships developed in collaboration with Integral Visions Consulting Inc. assists organizations/groups who are wanting to enhance their current mentorship programs or develop a new one. Some formal mentorship programs consist of only screening and matching mentors and mentees, overlooking the learning of "how to" mentor. Our Program, with the support of a customized workbook and workshop, takes mentor pairs through our Five-Phase Mentoring Relationship Model. We provide an introduction to the basics of mentoring and help participants get started on their mentoring relationships. We then offer a range of sustainability strategies, both onsite and virtual, to keep the mentoring relationship going.

Of interest, in 2007 our workbook and workshop were used by Oncology APN's as one component of their Interprofessional e-Mentorship Program. The Program was developed as a recruitment and retention strategy. Evaluation results post workshop have exceeded expectations. Now the program has been extended to all oncology nurses in Ontario and is funded by the de Souza Institute. In 2008 Ryerson University used our workshop and workbook as an intervention to bring together alumni with students who are near graduation.  The goals of the project are to explore if and how the mentoring relationship assists with the transition of new graduates to their professional practice career and enhances career satisfaction of mentors.  In 2010 we assisted the Quality Improvement and Innovation Partnership (QIIP) in the development, facilitation and evaluation of a formal mentorship program that supports employee career and performance goals. We also published an article on our Model in the Canadian Nurse.