Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Committee Chair

Yvonne Smith

Abstract

Diversity can add value to a team by bringing in ideas and viewpoints from various backgrounds that may not have been thought of otherwise. This is also true in the health care setting. Nurse leaders have identified a strong connection between a diverse nursing workforce and the ability to provide quality, culturally competent care to patients (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, [AACN] 2015). According to the Kaiser Foundation, there were 3,184,283 registered nurses (RN) in the United States in 2016. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing and The Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers 2013 National Workforce Survey of RNs determined that men represented only 7% of the profession. It is also noted there is a lack of mentors, including male nurse faculty, in the academic settings. Men are represented by only 3.5% of faculty. Not only have male students expressed the importance of having male faculty educators, but mentors have also been shown to be effective in increasing the diversity of the nursing workforce (Wilson, Sanner, & McAllister, 2010). The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop and implement a mentoring program to improve a male student mentee’s ability to achieve personal/professional goals, which will ultimately lead to a professional career in nursing. The project setting was located in a community in the southeastern region of the United States. Based on the findings of the project, mentors and student mentees felt the program was very beneficial and should be implemented even earlier in the student’s educational experience. Student mentees expressed higher comfort levels with transitioning to the practice environment and were appreciative of résumé building and interview skills, which will aid them in obtaining employment in the area they desire. Mentors reported satisfaction in giving-back to the profession and some even expressed an interest in pursuing a career in the academic environment. With the implementation of more mentoring programs, retention goals may be achieved and more males may realize the nursing profession is an excellent career option. In addition, excellent networking opportunities will allow mentors and student mentees the ability to share ideas, which can improve patient outcomes and greatly impact nursing practice.

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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