Running head: MENTORING IN NURSING: A CONCEPT ANALYSIS

Mentoring In Nursing: A Concept Analysis
Leslie R. Dick
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Introduction

Mentoring can be dated as far back as the Ancient Greeks. Young athletes were trained by their more experienced superiors. Homer is most famous for our initial understanding a mentor when he tells of Odysseus leaving his infant son with a companion, Mentor, when he left on his Odyssey (Gentry, Weber, & Sadri, 2008). Mentoring is a relationship between two people which lasts over an extended period of time. One of the people, the mentor, is more experienced and considered senior to the mentee and is trusted by the mentee. The mentee is less experienced, although not necessarily younger, than the mentor. Mentors can play an important role in our lives. They share knowledge, experience, and wisdom, and they critique us and give honest feedback. Positive, competent mentors develop relationships with their mentees and are focused on their growth. They are also generous and professional in their collaborations. The benefits of mentoring relationships include increased self-confidence and retention, strengthened professional relationships and increased skill levels. These consequences of mentoring improve the health environment for all. Through this concept analysis, I hope to show the attributes associated with mentoring as well as provide related terms that will provide a further understanding of the concept. A model, borderline, and contrary case will be presented that will provide examples of mentoring situations. Empirical referents that indicate the concept is present will also be presented.
Literature Review Even though Florence Nightingale used mentors in the nursing field in the 1800’s, there is not consistent mention of their use in literature until the 1980’s (Owens