Evaluation of a Leadership Mentor Pilot Program for Nurses of Color
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Date
2024-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Background Mentoring is critical for career advancement, especially for leadership and succession planning. Problem A significant proportion of the United States (U.S.) healthcare workforce comprises people from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. Evidence shows that this population is under-represented from management to C-suite levels. Method To support the development of a more racially diverse inclusive nursing workforce and nursing leadership pipeline, implementing a nurse leadership mentor program for nurses of color addresses the disparity of racial and ethnic diversity in nursing leadership. The project aimed to examine the impact of a mentorship program designed for emerging nurses of color interested in pursuing leadership positions. Intervention The three-month initiative “Stepping Up”, adopted a quality improvement framework for implementation and evaluation. The program design principles were adapted and integrated from the Leadership Institute for Black Nurses (LIBN) (Wesley & Dobal, 2009). The program consisted of 3 monthly 1.5 hour educational and group mentoring workshops led by experienced leaders focused on three main leadership topics: 1.) Leadership 101, emotional intelligence, and effective communication; 2.) Networking and Building Meaningful Relationships; and 3.) Resume Building and Interviewing. Supplemental literature relevant to new leaders were offered as resources to the program participants. Each mentor had 2-3 mentees in their pod, where group mentoring took place after the sessions. Mentors and mentees also had the opportunity to set up 1:1 time to further assist their career enhancement. Mentors were provided a guide to aid in interactive discussions utilizing psychologist Albert Bandura 4 sources of self-efficacy (see Appendix F), “the belief that you can accomplish a particular task” (Brown-DeVeaux et al., 2021). The project began with collectively gathering qualitative individual participants (mentees) confidence in themselves to lead others and their beliefs in how their leaders will support their leadership. Evaluation of the program included a narrative qualitative approach using feedback sessions to thematically analyze qualitative feedback about the mentorship program. The program findings included informative qualitative feedback on the necessity of a mentorship program supporting nurses of color to pursue leaderships. Participants reported the program provided greater insight on leadership aspects to make them successful and feeling more confident in networking within the organization.
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Keywords
Mentorship, Leadership, Nursing, Black Nurses, Nurses of Color