ROLE OF MENTOR

Role of Mentor

Role of Mentor

Introduction

This paper presents a critical analysis of a mentor's role, his services, which he renders in the professional development of an individual especially for School students. Mentors enjoy a respectable position in the society and their importance cannot be under-estimated. Mentoring is a process by which a more experienced person (the mentor) provides guidance and assistance to an individual for his or her personal and professional development, by investing time, energy and knowledge. Mentoring can also be taken as a committed personal learning process, whereby a person takes ownership and responsibility for their own personal and professional development.

Discussion

Mentoring

Mentoring is an interpersonal relationship support, exchange and learning, in which a skilled person, the mentor is investing his acquired wisdom and expertise to promote the development of another person, the mentee, who acquire skills and career goals to be achieved. The assistance provided by the mentor is normally paid and is paid as part of a professional relationship. It meets the needs of the mentee in terms of objectives related to his personal and professional development (Newby, Heide, 1992, pp.2-15). The function of practice based learning is to provide experience, serving an important role in developing the skills of the student in interacting with patients and their families assisting in technical, psychomotor, interpersonal and communication skills (Murray, 1997, pp.50). Practice based learning provides an opportunity to link theory and practice, and promotes professional identity development.

The mentor is a true generator of change, promoting growth at all levels: personal, professional, organizational and social. His contribution to humanity is transforming. Today, the mentor becomes a protagonist necessary for the dissemination of knowledge to accelerate learning processes in a world that often seems to have no coherence.

Basically, mentors are responsible to facilitate their subordinates in two major areas; including career counseling and psychosocial development. It has been found that mentorship develops a positive impact on the overall personal and professional development of an individual irrespective of gender, ethnic or cultural differences.

Phases of Mentorship

As a tool for professional development, mentoring can help maintain the employment, succession planning, to job satisfaction and development roles. The relationship between mentor and protégé is at the heart of mentoring. Like all relationships, it requires thought, time and attention. In 2007, to observe many mentoring relationships, three key ingredients for success were identified: understanding the why of the relationship, and how to understand its full commitment (McGuire, 1999, pp.105-20).

The five-step model for mentoring relationships (Five-Phase Mentoring Relationship Model) provides basic guidelines in promoting effective relationship between a mentor and his nursing students. The search for new challenges or responsibilities or a desire to find enrichment opportunities may raise interest in mentoring: it can be a protected seeking an experienced guide for support or encouragement whiles it adopts a new role or a framework that seeks to promote the professional development of others.

The commitment focuses on how to start finding a mentor or become one. This step can be done simply as a request ...