The relationship between mentorship and learning

As a mentor , you can, by stimulating reflection and feedback, help students see the relationship between theory and practice, and achieve the learning outcomes defined for the clinical placement period.

Invite and stimulate dialogue and reflection

Inviting student nurses to take part in dialogue is the most important thing we do when mentoring. Dialogue and reflection create opportunities for discovery and learning. For students to learn best from the experiences they gain in different learning situations, it is important that they are invited to reflect – both before and after learning situations.

“Reflection involves thinking about how we do things and why we do what we do.”

Reflection contributes to raising awareness regarding the students’:

• Level of knowledge
• Ability to assess oneself and one’s own practice
• Values and attitudes
• Strengths and weaknesses
• Learning needs – what you might do differently in similar situations and why.

An invitation to reflect means that the nurse mentor facilitates dialogue so that students can share their thoughts and experiences from different learning situations involving different patients and nursing situations.

In-depth learning is promoted when students are encouraged to take part in and relate knowledge to practical actions via reflection and discussion. In addition, this contributes to students gradually taking more and more responsibility for their own learning and knowledge needs, as well as being able to solve the challenges they experience in their encounters with patients or residents and in the working community. 

Good advice:

Simply telling or showing students what to do, or leaving them to themselves, reduces their learning opportunities.

Giving constructive feedback

Constructive feedback is key to the learning process. A lack of feedback can hamper students learning.

Feedback supports the learning process and can be affirmative, supportive, corrective, guiding and challenging. Feedback should be given continuously throughout the student’s clinical placement period. This can take place on an ongoing basis, after a learning situation, a working day or during a working week. 

The best feedback is given directly after a learning situation where specific feedback provides good learning opportunities. Try to avoid general comments like “you are good at this”, “that was good” or “that wasn’t good”. 

If you give feedback on something that you considered was not good enough or satisfactory, it is important for the students’ learning to help them make specific suggestions for what and how this can be worked on further.

A lack of feedback can make students feel insecure and make them less likely to dare to challenge themselves in new situations. Students can quickly become insecure and think that they are not good enough if no one says anything. Feedback should not be given when fellow students, staff, patients, and relatives are present.

“In order for feedback to be experienced as guidance and not criticism, it should be given in a way that contributes to increasing the student’s awareness and understanding of their platform of knowledge, skills, attitudes and professional ethics.”

Good advice: