Introduction
The Nursing Council of New Zealand (NCNZ) has leadership requirements of registered nurses (RNs) practicing in NZ. RNs must contribute to the support, direction and teaching of colleagues and provide guidance and support to those entering as students, beginning practitioners and those transferring into a new clinical environment (NCNZ, 2012, p. 22). While much of the undergraduate nursing curriculum focuses on the nursing skills of assessment, communication, evidence-based practice and prioritisation of care, less time is spent on developing the leadership skills that will be required by graduate nurses as they enter the work force.
Method
To introduce nursing students to the practical concepts of leadership, a mentorship exercise was developed for Year Three nursing students to work with Year One students. Following an introductory session on mentorship, Year Three students self-selected a session where they could facilitate Year One students learning a variety of assessment skills ranging from assessment of vital signs through to neurological assessment. Following these sessions the Year Three students wrote a reflection of their experience and developed learning objectives for their Integrated Practice paper.
Results
A thematic analysis shows that students valued the experience and it increased their awareness of their learning/development over the course of their programme. All students identified learning objectives for future practice.
Conclusion
Students benefit from working with students. Mentorship needs to be further developed and work needs to be done to take the exercise into the clinical environment.