Ementoring: a means of providing professional support to health professionals

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E-mentoring a means of providing
professional support to health professionals
Sarah Stewart sarahs_at_tekotago.ac.nz
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Introduction

• Mentoring is relationship in which experienced
  health professional supports less experienced
  professional such as new graduate
• E-mentoring may overcome barriers to mentoring
• Pilot study
• explored
• experiences of
• midwives utilizing
• e-mentoring

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Mentors role

• Opportunities for critical reflection to
  facilitate learning
• Career development
• Guidance and advice
• Sharing information
• Socialization in work
• environment

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Barriers to mentoring

• Barriers to being mentored
• geographical isolation
• scarcity of mentors
• Barriers to being mentor
• time constraints

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E-mentoring

• May be alternative to face-to-face mentoring
• Email, bulletin boards, discussion groups,
  instant messaging, video conference

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Barriers to e-mentoring

• Lack of computer and Internet resources
• Poor computer skills
• Unable to see mentor

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Advantages of e-mentoring

• Flexibility of communication
• Breaks down barriers of geographical isolation
• Degree of anonymity may encourage disclosure of
  issues that would not be discussed in
  face-to-face setting

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Methods

• Pilot study carried out between March and June
  2006
• One midwife mentored two new graduates using
  secure email system developed by COH, University
  of Queensland
• Emails analyzed according to themes
• Participants asked about their experiences
• Ethical approval from OP

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Location of participants
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Themes of emails

• Debriefing and reflection
• Provision of information
• Clinical queries
• Advocacy
• Discussion of professional issues
• Face-to-face support mentees received
• How to set up self-employed practice
• Effect of legal case being highlighted in media
• Mentoring and preceptorship
• Keeping birth normal
• Future career plans

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Experience of mentor

• Enjoyed seeing mentees grow in experience and
  confidence
• Appreciated flexibility of communication
• Concerned about asking critical questions in
  supportive way
• Utilized strategies to make sure she didnt cause
  offense

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Experiences of mentees

• Valued e-mentoring
• Enjoyed additional opportunities for reflection
• Appreciated flexibility of communication
• Degree of anonymity made mentee feel safe
• Will continue with e-mentor until end of first
  year of practice

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Discussion

• Participants enjoyed flexibility of communication
  which suited busy lives
• Does not necessarily reduce time commitments for
  mentor
• Email system allowed mentor is fulfill many
  aspects of mentoring facilitating reflection,
  provision of information and advice, professional
  support, advocacy and career advice.

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• Unable to judge effect of online interactions
  because of lack of non-verbal cues
• Anonymity allows freedom to express feelings and
  thoughts that cannot be articulated in normal
  conversation
• Internet access and computer skills must be taken
  into consideration

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Conclusion

• E-mentoring is feasible and warrants further
  investigation
• Complements conventional
• face-to-face support
• In areas where there is no
• access to mentoring,
• e-mentoring may prove a
• vital tool professional
• development

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• Acknowledgements
• Professor Richard Wootton
• Liam Caffrey
• Otago Polytechnic
• Research Committee
• New Zealand Federation of
• Graduate Women
• (Otago Branch)