2 ND YEAR STUDENTS AS PEER MENTORS A PILOT PROJECT. By Linda Robson

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1 2 ND YEAR STUDENTS AS PEER MENTORS A PILOT PROJECT By Linda Robson

2 THEMES FROM THE LITERATURE First year students experiences : Disorientated, need to adapt Isolation Alienation Low self esteem Anxieties Don t know what is expected High and sometimes unrealistic expectations of HE Longer than a week to be inducted to H E Difficulty in transition to H E Feelings of powerlessness ( Aston and Molassiotis,2009;Billing, 1995; Christiansen and Bell,2010;Gibbons,2010 Hamrin et al,2006)

3 RATIONALE FOR THIS APPROACH Retention Committee Improve transition into Higher Education Sense of belonging / identity Extra level of support (Richardson and Brown,2009) Pastoral support Reduction in stress (LI-H-C et al, 2011) 2 nd year student has lived the experience of the first years (Dennison, 2010) Mentees and mentors benefit (Howard and Smith- Goodwin,2010 )

4 WHAT IS A PEER MENTOR a form of mentorship that takes place between a person who has lived through a specific experience and a person who is new to that experience (Oxford Dictionary)

5 FOHSC PEER MENTOR The peer mentor is a second year student who will support and guide first year students. The role will last for 12 months

6 UNDERPINNING MODEL The Skilled Helper model (Egan,2002) Stage 1 What is going on? Help to identify problems, issues or concerns. Tell their story Stage 2 What do I need or want instead of what I have? What solutions make sense for me? Explore possibilities Stage 3- What do I have to do to get what I want? Identifying and choosing actions. Draft a plan of action.

7 SKILLS NEEDED TO BE A MENTOR Relationship between mentor and mentee important Good knowledge of the University Collaborative working partnership Flexibility depending on needs Competent and committed Caring Non judgemental Empathetic Genuineness, openness, honest and transparent Good communicator- balance between active listening and talking Know your own limits and when to seek guidance

8 BENEFITS TO MENTOR New experience Enhancement of communication, listening and engagement skills (Egan, 2002) Added credential to your CV can be included in references Can be included in your portfolio certificate Sharing of knowledge and good practice Confidence building Help prepare you for the role of staff nurse Making a difference to first year students (Howard and Smith- Goodwin, 2010)

9 BENEFITS TO MENTEE AND UNIVERSITY Positive impact on the transition into Higher Education Positive impact on retention(howard and Smith- Goodwin,2010) Enhancement of the student s experience Another level of support for mentee (Richardson and Brown, 2009) Less formal support Morale boosting Gives hope and optimum Contributes towards a sense of belonging First year students benefit from the knowledge and experience of more senior students

10 PREPARATORY WORK FOR PILOT Initial literature review Networking other Programmes, Faculties First stage of pilot in mental health field

11 INITIAL STAGE Preparation of mentors 2 sessions What a mentor is and is not Skills needed to be a mentor (Egan,2002) Responsibilities of a mentor Development of a mentor handbook A5 size Ground rules and housekeeping Allocation of mentor to mentee 1:1 or 1:2 My role within this project

12 INITIAL STAGE Preparation of mentees overview of what the peer mentor pilot project is Role and responsibilities of a mentee What a peer mentor is and is not Ground rules and housekeeping Allocation of mentee to mentor My role within this project

13 FIRST CONTACT Face to face meeting set up by me Introductions Expectations of the role Roles and responsibilities How are things going at University? Any worries or concerns? Have they made contact with their personal tutor? Do they know how to use blackboard? Student services, learning services Ground rules and house keeping Future contacts between mentor and mentee

14 FEEDBACK ON THE FIRST MEETING Positive experience Room very noisy lots of talking Similar themes questions around placements Questions around blackboard and Turnitin some demonstrated this to mentee What are tutors like? Top tips for getting through the first year? What would 2 nd years do differently in first year? General questions on what it is like to be a student nurse at Edge Hill

15 PROCESS DURING THE INITIAL PILOT Face to face meeting set up by me After this contact was negotiated between mentor and mentee I sent reminder s to mentors Held support group sessions for mentors each time they were in university Evaluated at the end of the 12 months pilot mentors and mentees results fed back to students Certificates awarded to mentors at the end of the 12 month period (copy in your pack) Mentees invited to become mentors Project tweaked and cycle of change begins again

16 EVALUATION MENTORS Please read through the summary of the mentors evaluations in your pack. There were 17 mentors in the first pilot and all 17 completed an evaluation form Any questions or comments?

17 EVALUATION MENTEES Please read through the summary report in your pack 21 mentees completed the evaluation (25 students in the cohort) Any questions or comments?

18 FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROJECT To be rolled out across all fields of Pre Registration nurse training with April 2014 Amendments as a result of feedback Handbook tweaked ( copy of handbook in your pack) and includes Year Lead information Minimum standards active process Mentors- active engagement, professionalism Mentees active participation, professionalism, can opt out Evaluation to be completed mid way through the 12 month period Ongoing support for mentors Support of Year Leads

19 CHALLENGES Making sure initial face to face meeting has been held Time needed in the initial setup Contingency plans peer mentor off sick, stops the role Keeping the momentum going sustainability Offering right level of support as project grows Maintain and monitor minimum standards Engagement of colleagues and Year Leads Prioritising time for project

20 FEEDBACK FROM MENTEE I have spoken to quite a few students doing Mental Health and the pilot seems to be going well. I think it is a brilliant idea as the second years have already done what we are doing, so have the experience, also its nice to get to know even more students from the Faculty from an April 13 student received 4/7/13

21 NEXT STEPS To produce a paper for publication to disseminate the project further To continue to roll this out across all of Pre Registration Nurse Training (making improvements as a result of the feedback given) To ascertain interest for a university wide network to support staff involved in peer mentor schemes to share good practice, learn from each others experiences and offer mutual support and guidance (If interested please contact me robsonl@edgehill.ac.uk or x7037 )

22 ANY FINAL QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

23 REFERENCES Ashton,L. and Molassiotis,A.(2003) Supervising and Supporting Student Nurses in Clinical Placements: The Peer Support Iniative Nurse Education Today 23, Billing,D.(1995) Introduction of New Students to Higher Education Journal on Innovations in Education and Teaching International,34(2), Christiansen,A. and Bell,A. (2010) Peer Learning Partnerships:Exploring the Experience of Pre Registration Nursing Students Journal of Clinical Nursing,19, Dennison, S. (2010). Peer Mentoring :Untapped potential. Journal of Nursing Education,49,

24 REFERENCES Hamrin,V. Weycer,A. Pachler,M. and Fournier,D. (2006) Evaluation of Peer-Led Support Groups for Graduate Nursing Students Journal of Nursing Education 45 (1) Egan, G.(2002) The Skilled Helper.California : Thomson Learning. Howard, L.A. and Smith- Goodwin, E. (2010).Student to student mentoring for retention : both groups benefit. Athletic Therapy Today,15, Li-H-C, Wang, L. S., Lin Y-H, Lee, I.(2010). The effect of a peer mentoring strategy on student nurse stress reduction. International Nursing Review, 58, Richardson,B and Brown, K.(2009). Enhancing the support for Pre Registration students. Paediatric Nursing, 21,40-43

POLICY, PROCEDURES AND RESPONSIBILITY PPA MENTORING PROGRAM

POLICY, PROCEDURES AND RESPONSIBILITY PPA MENTORING PROGRAM CONTENTS Objectives of the program... 2 Affected parties... 2 The nature of the mentoring relationship... 2 Program duration... 3 Performance