Learning from the masters
Nurse mentoring program at ETMC Athens a boon for community
By Toni Garrard Clay

Courtesy Photo MENTORING NURSES -- 2006 marked the inaugural year of the ETMC Athens' Nurse Mentoring program. The program encourages new nurses to select an experienced RN to help guide them through their first year at the hospital. Mentors pictured are: (L-R) standing Louise Graham, Donna Smith, Linda McKee, Tina Gafford, Karen Nicodemus, seated Melissa Lehman and Teresa Burleson.

Over a year ago, Melissa Lehman, of Chander, was working on her master's thesis and considering how ETMC Athens - an organization dedicated to excellence at all levels - could offer even more to its nursing staff.

As the nursing performance improvement coordinator, Lehman considered implementing several programs. But she kept returning to the idea of mentoring: placing new nursing-school graduates under the wings of caring, experienced nurses.

"Other programs would have been easier to implement, " she said, "but we wanted to nurture the relationship between the nurses on the floor and the leadership and to have the floor nurses more fully engaged in their profession.

"We want them to ask, `Is there something new and better for treating patients?'"

The mentoring program was established in January 2006, and the results after one year speak for themselves. While the turnover rate among the nursing staff stayed about the same, the turnover rate for recently graduated nurses decreased.

"We've seen a practical benefit in a year," enthused Lehman.

In 2006, there were 11 nurses who acted as mentors. One of those was Trauma Coordinator Donna Smith. Smith mentored new emer- gency department nurse Cindy Truelove.

"One of my goals with Cindy was to help her get to a comfortable level of confidence, " explained Smith. "Usually when that happens, you see better retention of a new nurse."

Throughout the year, Smith met with Truelove and sought observations from her coworkers in the ER.

"I tried, as she did something, to acknowledge if it was good or if she needed improvement. She cares deeply for patients, and I just tried to tweak a few things that would benefit her," recalled Smith. "She was very open-minded and seemed sincerely appreciative. She's a delight to work with."

For her part, Truelove calls her year as a protg a very positive experience.

"It's challenging to transition from student to RN," concedes Truelove. "(Smith) was very helpful. I did have some difficulty trying to prioritize, and she was very helpful. She always made time for me and followed up."

"It was good to have somebody to turn to who's not necessarily your coworker," she added. "You don't always know just who to talk to when you're the new person."

Truelove said Smith was a particularly good match for her because of her mentor's background in the emergency department. She selected Smith from a list of potential mentors and their accompanying profiles. The profiles make it possible for protgs to choose a mentor to whom they are more likely to relate.

New nurses at ETMC Athens are required to go through an orientation program, and during that process they are told of the mentoring program and given the opportunity to participate.

Potential nurse mentors are chosen based on their experience levels and, of course, willingness. They also attend a short training class.

"Informal mentoring has always happened, and we promote it," said Lehman. But, she adds, the formal program goes hand-in-hand with the hospital's mission statement of striving toward a spirit of excellence.

"In the long run," she noted, "this mentoring program helps all of us - particularly our community and our patients."