Nurse Faculty Mentoring of Students to Optimize Student Success: A Basic Qualitative Study

Background: The demand for practicing registered nurses outweighs the supply, resulting in a nursing shortage. Many nursing schools grapple with high attrition and low NCLEX pass rates. Mentoring is an evidence- based strategy used in post-secondary education to help students persist to graduation and pass NCLEX, which is the licensing exam in the United States. Aim: Current literature has identified a need for more research in the area of mentoring including mentoring in RN prelicensure nursing education. Methods: Basic qualitative methodology, using semi-structured interviews, was utilized to generate an understanding of the nursing faculty mentoring role. Results: Themes included (a) developing relationships, (b) addressing psychosocial needs- time, listening, and support, self-esteem/self-confidence (c) addressing academic needs- helping students succeed in the classroom and the clinical role, and (d) role modeling. Conclusion: The findings support the application of mentoring practices in schools of nursing across the country with the aim of helping students succeed in nursing school and pass the licensure examinations. (c) 2024 Organization for Associate Degree Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.