Leading Clinical Practice: the role of clinical mentoring in education delivery Presentation to: Palliative Care Victoria Regional Educators’ Special Interest Group Lesley Armstrong October 2010

Objectives Facilitate exploration of the roles of leaders/educators with respect to: -Mentoring and clinical mentoring –Distinguish from other L&D approaches (coaching, counselling, supervision, training) –Identify key attributes of an effective mentor / mentee / mentoring relationship Draw on the experience in the room!

LA – mentoring experience Volunteer -Monash University GSB -Career Development Assoc of Australia Formal leadership devt and coaching programs -RDNS, ANZ Bank, RBG, Fairfax Media, DPC, DoJ, DSE -MCMPC – “Team Support” My mentor -15 years: Vona – Uni. lecturer in career devt and counselling -What I’ve not forgotten: compassion, challenging feedback aimed at helping me, absolute support and friendship, sponsorship – opening doors, ability to meld the professional with the personal over the years.

Leadership – too many definitions to handle ….. Self-awareness and self-management Inspiring – creating the vision Motivating others Positive role-modelling Ability to manage situations, tasks and people towards goals Willingness and ability to make decisions IQ and EQ and judgment

Why should anyone be led by you? Prof Rob Goffee LBS 09 Followers want: -Community, authenticity, significance, excitement Authentic leaders: - Sense situations and articulate them -Identify – get close but keep your distance -Reveal your difference – know and show yourself enough -Reveal weakness – don’t pretend you don’t have any Leadership is: -Contextual - depends on the workplace -Relational – about our relationship with others -Non-hierarchical

What is mentoring? …. A developmental process that facilitates personal and professional growth. The relationship is mutually beneficial and provides a self-regenerating cycle that helps both mentors and mentees succeed and flourish.

Definitions Mentoring Clinical mentoring Supervision Coaching Counselling Training

The goals of mentoring are …… Bringing out the best in people  Enhancing self-awareness  Focus is on personal development and facilitating learning  Guiding – to help explain and decode industry and business culture  Counselling to help a mentee to discover and develop abilities  An advocate to coach a mentee through their career: sponsor  A role-model to set an example of success  Providing support and encouragement  Challenging – especially “blind” spots  Orientation to goal achievement and reaching potential  Providing a safe and confidential learning environment IS FUTURE ORIENTED

“PUTTING IN”  Skills  Knowledge  Experience “PULLING OUT”  Potential  Commitment  Expertise Coach does most of the TALKING LISTENING Coaching : Bringing out the best in people

Counselling In 1993, Feltharn and Dryden included the following definition of counseling in their specialized Dictionary of Counselling: Counselling is a principled relationship characterised by the application of one or more psychological theories and a recognised set of communication skills, modified by experience, intuition and other interpersonal factors, to clients’ intimate concerns, problems or aspirations. Its predominant ethos is one of facilitation rather than of advice-giving or coercion. It may be of very brief or long duration, take place in an organisational or private practice setting and may or may not overlap with practical, medical and other matters of personal welfare. It is a service sought by people in distress or in some degree of confusion who wish to discuss and resolve these in a relationship which is more disciplined and confidential than friendship, and perhaps less stigmatising than helping relationships offered in traditional medical or psychiatric settings. ORIENTED TO THE PAST

Mentoring – NP Preceptor/Student Relationship A voluntary, committed, dynamic, extended, intense and supportive relationship characterized by trust, friendship and mutuality between an experienced, respected person, such as a NP preceptor and an NP student for the purpose of socializing the student and promoting student self-efficacy in taking on the advanced practice role. (Hayes, E.F. Clinical Excellence for Nurse Practitioners, Vol 5 No 2, 2001, p.111)

The goals of clinical mentoring are …… Bringing out the best in people – especially helping the mentee to be an effective and successful professional in their clinical role  Providing help with the difficulties of a demanding role; cope with stress of functioning at an advanced level  Support for role socialization and help with clinical aspects of the role  Enhancing the belief that the mentee can take on the newly acquired role  Supporting the transition of the novice into a new profession, role or organisation  Sharing wisdom and knowledge from the mentor’s experience  Focus is on developing targeted capabilities  Orientation to goal achievement and reaching potential: goal is patient satisfaction with care and confidence in their health provider IS CURRENT AND FUTURE ORIENTED

Attributes of an effective mentor & mentoring relationship Draw on your own experience Mentors - key attributes? Mentees – key attributes? Key aspects of a successful mentoring relationship?

Mentors – key attributes Competence and confidence in role as mentor and professional Self-awareness and self-management Range of communication skills: especially listening, asking questions, summarising, supporting and challenging (Some) Coaching and counselling skills Ability to provide feedback Time to give to the mentoring relationship Non-critical / non-judgmental Political savvy – awareness of inner workings of organisational environment Ethics and awareness of relevant professional ethics Respect for the novice Openness to new ideas and change – relaxed in own skin!

Mentees – key attributes Self-awareness and self-management Time to commit to mentoring Willingness to engage with mentor & respect for mentor’s experience Motivation to learn and ability to reflect on learning Listening and asking questions Openness to new ideas and change

Characteristics – successful mentoring relationships? Role clarity: boundaries clear : realistic expectations Safe environment Experience and education Choice of mentor Context : impact of site on mentoring Shared goals for the relationship Respect and mutual commitment Sharing knowledge and experience Time, energy and resources Awareness of values : similarities + differences Courage and trust - to raise difficulties Age / stage : common interests