The development of mentor's competences in the process of supervision

Judita Bendelja (2018) The development of mentor's competences in the process of supervision. MSc thesis.

Preview

PDF Download (1846Kb)

Abstract

I studied the effects of supervision on the development of career and psychosocial competence of mentors to students of a secondary school of nursing in the healthcare and nursing care program. For students, the transition to practice is often stressful, and the mentor, who monitors and methodically guides the student, plays a very important role in this process, as he advises the student and contributes to the reflection of his experiences, thus acting as a "mentoring supervisor". The constant reflection of the mentor's work and awareness of his role as well as the related dilemmas and beliefs are also important. Supervision can help the mentor to develop skills, which contribute to assuming the complex role of a mentor. In the theoretical part, I presented the importance of quality mentoring during the process of practical education. In addition, I presented the topic of learning within the supervision process and compared the mentoring process with the developmentally educative supervision process. The empirical part focuses on the qualitative research, which included mentors of practical training from work organisations and mentors of practical classes from the secondary school of nursing. The purpose of the research was to determine whether and how the developmental and educational model of supervision promotes the mentor's development of career and psychosocial functions. Additionally, the carried out qualitative research’s aim was to connect practical training between the educational and work institution, in our case a hospital and a social security institution. The results of the research confirm that the supervisory process has a positive impact on the mentors’ development of career and psychosocial functions. In terms of career functions, mentors have improved the ability to observe their students, recognize their needs, and develop new competencies of problem solving and providing feedback. In terms of psychosocial functions, communication skills and the ability to listen and encourage mentorees were developed. In the safe environment of the supervision process, the included mentors learned about each other's work through a structured dialogue, thereby developing trust and enhancing cooperation between mentors from various institutions. Results show that supervision as a form of education for mentors can offer them support, reflection and personal growth, bring greater satisfaction at work and support them in their mission.

Actions (login required)