Clarity, Communication, Commitment – the key to a successful mentorship relationship

By definition, mentorship is a relationship between two people where the individual with more experience, knowledge, and connections is able to pass along what they have learned to a more junior individual within a certain field. The more senior individual is the mentor, and the more junior individual is the mentee.  Mentorship occurs across all sectors, types of businesses, and roles.    

MNU Mentorship Program

Nurses progress from novice to expert at various stages of their careers: from an undergraduate nursing employee to a grad nurse to their professional practice in their RN/RPN/LPN role.  While mentorship is important to a “newly graduated nurse”, it is almost as important to nurses who transition to different areas in nursing which may make them “novice” in their new area of practice.  The novice nurse has recently completed formal education but benefits from additional supports to transition from the role of novice to expert. During this transition period, a novice nurse requires the guidance of others to learn how to apply theoretical knowledge to real life clinical experiences (Benner, 1984). Helping the novice nurse develop new skills, overcome obstacles, and integrate into the workplace is crucial. Research has shown that an effective integration into the workplace can aid in recruitment, job satisfaction, and promote retention. An essential part of this integration includes mentorship.  

Mentoring not only facilitates best clinical practices and professional growth for the mentee but also the mentor must remain current with policies and practices to best guide the mentee, making it a mutually beneficial relationship (Howard 2020).

                                                  - Excerpt from MB Healthcare providers Network, 2022

MNU Mentorship Premiums

In accordance with the MNU Collective Agreement, mentors who participate in an eligible mentorship relationship will receive a 0.70/hour premium. Eligibility is outlined in the presentation below.  Mentorship pairings can still be arranged in instances where the criteria have not been met; however, the mentors in such a case will not be eligible for the premium.

General Information for Managers (Link to MB Healthcare Providers Network)

Information for Managers in Southern Health-Santé Sud

Managers should initiate mentorship pairings for all eligible staff without delay upon hire. Mentorship resources (see below) should be provided to both the mentor and mentee prior to the start of the relationship to enhance the overall experience. However, there is no formal pre-requisite training that needs to occur before the premium begins. Once the mentor has been assigned, managers will communicate this relationship to payroll through the following process.   While there is more work being done provincially on the overall payroll process, these instructions will guide us in the interim.

Facility Manager Responsibility

  1. Managers must provide site Payroll Clerk with a RFL for Mentorship Premium Form signed by both the Manager and the employee. The RFL must indicate the comment as per the attachment.

 

Site Payroll Responsibility

  1. Payroll Clerk must enter the information using the AP7 MNU mentorship premium
  2. Add the AP7 MNU mentoring premium hours to their ESP timecard at the end of each pay period, as a lump sum entry. This includes regular worked hours (@1.0) only.
  3. Payroll Clerk is responsible to keep track of the hours being paid each pay period.
  4. Payroll Clerks are to submit the approved RFL to Regional payroll at payrollsupport@southernhealth.ca

 

Resources to Support Mentors and Mentees

Mentorship questions can be directed to:

Tamara Burnham, Collaborative Practice Lead:  204-371-1008 or email