| Mentoring has been suggested as a means to assist with role transition, career planning and retention in the profession by providing opportunities for personal and professional growth which lead to satisfaction. Satisfaction is especially crucial for the retention of Registered Nurses in a time when the profession has been experiencing a critical shortage. This quantitative study examined the influence of mentoring for RNs who have been employed for the first time for less than two years in acute care facilities. Conducted using Bouquillon's mentoring instrument and based in the frameworks of King and Kram, the study suggests mentoring is occurring among new nurses (proteges). The proteges reported mentoring antecedents, and both the psychosocial and the career development functions which Kram states are important to be present if mentoring is to occur. These RNs clearly describe an individual as a "mentor". In this study, those nurses who had a higher level of goal attainment (mean ≥ 36) and were in a mentoring relationship showed a higher level of role satisfaction. |
