National League for Nursing Promotes Mentoring to Help Address Serious Shortage of Nurse Faculty

Expand mentoring programs “across the career continuum” and address the continuing nurse faculty shortage, advocates the National League for Nursing in a recently published position statement.

New York, NY (PRWEB) March 19, 2006 -- Expand mentoring programs “across the career continuum” and address the continuing nurse faculty shortage, advocates the National League for Nursing in a recently published position statement.

“Mentoring of Nurse Faculty” makes a strong case for the effect mentoring relationships can have on the recruitment and retention of qualified nurse educators. “What is essential throughout the nurse educator’s career,” the NLN position statement maintains, “is interaction with individuals who can continually support, guide, teach, and challenge them.” The position statement describes a variety of mentoring models for early-, mid-, and late-career nurse faculty.

“It has long been acknowledged that having a mentor can be of great assistance to those who wish to foster their professional development and provide leadership within and on behalf of their professions,” says NLN CEO Dr. Ruth Corcoran. “The majority of the respondents to our 2003 National Study of Faculty Role Satisfaction cited a mentor who helped them socialize into the faculty role.”

“Mentoring of Nurse Faculty” concludes with recommendations to nurse faculty; deans, directors, and chairpersons; and the NLN. These range from, respectively, “actively participate in mentoring relationships”; “engage new, mid-career, and seasoned faculty in developing mentoring initiatives at your institution”; and “support research on mentoring in the academic environment.”

Said NLN president Dr. Toni Bargagliotti, “By issuing a statement that encourages mentoring, the NLN furthers its goal to ‘lead in promoting the professional growth and continuous quality improvement of faculty and nursing education leaders who prepare the global nursing workforce.’”

Editors and reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact Karen R. Klestzick at 212-812-0376. To download a copy of the position statement, visit http://www.nln.org/aboutnln/PositionStatements/index.htm.

The NLN advances excellence in nursing education that prepares the nursing workforce to meet the needs of diverse populations in an ever-changing health care environment.

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