Table 3.

Characteristics of the nurse mentoring programs.

Code	Hospital’s Name and Features	Program/Duration	Participants	Objectives	Development	Outcomes	Measurement Tools
S01	Jackson Memorial Hospital Second largest medical center in the United States, with more than 1500 beds and 2000 nurses. Miami, Florida EEUU Private	“Nurses in action”/6–12 months	70 advisors 111 advisees	Increase the pool of qualified applicants for vacant positions. Provide nurses in new roles with advisors to enhance their performance.	The program was promoted via staff meetings and fliers, in nursing orientation, in nursing opportunities listings and in newsletters. A data base was used to generate lists of advisors and advisees that were distributed so that participants could choose potential partners. A luncheon was designed with the purpose of networking and sharing. Monthly half-hour lunches were developed to accommodate the staff nurses´ schedule. Lunch topics have included 10-minute presentation on mentoring, goal-setting, expanded roles of nurses, advisor/advisee success stories, self- assessments and piloting mentor programs at the unit level.	Provide an increased pool of potential successors to fill vacant positions quickly and enhance the selection process for promotions. Enhance the nursing profession through the development of its members.	A questionnaire for participants was sent six months after they began the program
S02	Norton Healthcare 5 hospital system 2500 nurses Louisville, Kentucky EEUU Private	“Norton Navigators”/18 months	95 navigators 260 protégés	Improve retention	Matches recent nursing school graduates with experienced nurses. Mentors receive specialized training, monetary incentives. The program was promoted in new graduates´ interviews, mailing and in the newsletter. They received an acceptance package. There is a program coordinator.	Improve retention rate of new nurses and reduced the overall turnover rate for new graduates. Save money, higher patient satisfaction and an increase in recruitment.	Risk analysis at a 6 months
S03	2 hospital system 850 beds California EEUU Private	“Nurses supporting nurses”	76 mentors 95 mentees	Improve the workforce environment	A steering committee, including the hospital liaison and the university project team was created. Brochures, posters and flyers were created to market the project. Nursing leadership was informed. Recruiting experienced staff nurses to serve as mentors. Application form to be considered for the project. Individual Web pages were given to each mentor and mentee to help the selection and match. Educational sessions were developed. Quarterly mentor support meetings.	Improvement of patient and nurse satisfaction, nurse vacancy and retention rates and patient safety data relating to fall and Pressure Ulcer prevention. Save money.	Decisional Involvement Scale
S04	OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center Rockford, Illinois EEUU Private	“AORN’s Perioperative Nursing Course 101”/16 months	9 mentors 27 mentees	Improve retention	Nurse volunteers were solicited (2 years of experience as a perioperative nurse). Five nurses volunteered to be members of the Mentorship Planning Committee. The Committee members promoted the program. A mentorship program folder was created. They selected a mentor for each mentee and planned the meeting that would bring all of the mentors and mentees together for the first time. The mentor and mentee each were asked to sign a contract. Each mentorship pair was asked to meet on at least a monthly basis.	Improve retention	Evaluation survey
S05	18 hospitals or hospital systems agreed to participate in the project. These hospitals were located around the country: Northeast (n = 4), South (n = 10), North Central (n = 3), West (n = 1). Private	“Nurses Nurturing Nurses”/12 months	107 mentees 119 mentors	Enhance nurses´ job satisfaction Improve retention	The mentorship program was developed by The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses in a hospital. Agencies interested purchased a packet of materials. The Academy appointed a program coordinator. Once an agency decided to participate, leaders were asked to appoint a site coordinator to serve as project director, who was responsible for matching the mentor/mentee dyads, providing orientation for the mentors and mentees, facilitating processes within the agency, and assisting in collection of evaluation data.	New nurse confidence increase. A formal mentorship program may be effective in improving nurse retention if the hospital/ hospital system makes a firm commitment to support the mentoring program.	Evaluation materials were collected four times over the 12-month period. Intent to Stay/Job Diagnostic Survey Nurse job satisfaction survey New Nurse Confidence Scale (NNCS) Mentee “Assessment of the Relationship with the Mentor” Mentor “Assessment of the Relationship with the Mentee” Mentee’s Satisfaction with the Program Mentor’s Satisfaction with the Program
S06	3 regional hospitals in Taiwan Public	Mentoring program for new staff nurses/ 2–4 months	306 nurse subjects were obtained	Job satisfaction and organizational commitment of new nurses	All the hospitals that were part of the study have an existing formal program that required mentors to give guidance and assistance to new staff nurses for at least two months. Nursing managers usually assigned senior nurses as mentors to guide the new staff nurses. The types of this program include classes, seminar, workshop, or conference.	Effective mentoring will reinforce the job satisfaction of the new nurses and their commitment to the hospital The psychosocial support and career development appear lower	Employed self- administered questionnaires to collect research data
S07	Hospitals, long- term-care facilities and community organizations Ontario, Canada	“Nursing Graduate Guarantee”/12 weeks	1198 employers	Facilitate the transition of new graduate nurses to professional practice	This study was part of a policy evaluation of The Ontario health ministry conducted annually from 2007 to 2010. HealthForceOntario services were used to e-mail all newly graduated nurses. To participate in the Nursing Graduate Guarantee, employers and New Graduated Nurses had to register on a Web-based employment portal created by HealthForceOntario. Including 3 to 6 days of general orientation; clearly defines the roles of newly graduated nurses, mentors, and orientation leaders; and ensure the use of a learning plan by and New Graduated Nurses and mentors Supervision is generally one-to-one. In some cases, however, the and New Graduated Nurses rotates to a different unit for increased clinical exposure, and thus is supervised by more than one mentor	Mentorship increased the new graduate nurses confidence and allowed them to make clinical decisions in safe, protected environment. The program provided vital support and helped new graduate nurses move from students to practicing nurses.	Focus groups were held with employers (they were contacted by e-mail) and individual interviews were conducted with newly graduated nurses and mentors.
S08	Multihospital system (5 units in 5 hospitals) EEUU Private	Structured evidence- based practice education with mentoring innovation for nurses/ 14–16 weeks	169 registered nurses	Mentoring support to adopt evidence- based practice. Empower nurses to proactively seek the best available evidence, improve patient care and outcomes and diffuse the implementation of EBP in the nursing unit.	Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model´s. The practice question-evidence-translation process provided a concrete structure for evidence- based practice education with mentoring program planning. One team leader and one clinical registered nurse interested in serving as a resource nurse were recruited from each unit. Pre- and post-data were collected from convenience sample of nurses. Resources were allocated including educational material and designated personnel. An educational program was developed. A clinical nurse from each pilot unit serves as mentor to other staff. The initial group didactic session included foundational steps in the process. Classroom-based instruction for the education program was offered. The intervention included a launch. Group sessions for literature review and ranking or rating were offered via conference calls. Then participants from the pilot units synthesized the evidence and made a determination on overall quality of evidence exist to warrant an implementation project.	Positive movement toward evidence-based practice in project participants. Nurses at all levels of practice require mentoring and coaching to foster evidence-based practice sustainment.	Evidence-based practice beliefs scale and implementation scale Focus groups
S09	Adult medical care and adult step-down surgical care unit 900-bed, level 1 trauma, academic hospital Southern California EEUU Private	“The evidence- based practice program” Short term structured mentorship program/ 8–10 weeks	11 mentees (initial pilot study)	Increase work engagement among staff	Participants were recruited after program presentation. Clinical nurse specialist scheduled a face-to-face or telephone meeting. Follow-up emails were sent every 2 weeks for 8 weeks.	Professional development of nursing staff increases job satisfaction and employment retention	Utrecht Work Engagement Scale Munich Evaluation of mentoring Questionnaire
S10	300 beds community hospital Midwestern EEUU Private	Mentoring program for new registered nurses hired into medical- surgical units/12 weeks	15 mentors 20 mentees	Improve retention	Based on the mentoring program of The Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses published in 2012.	Improve retention	Intent to Stay/Job Diagnostic Survey Nurse job satisfaction survey Mentee’s Satisfaction with the Program Mentor’s Satisfaction with the Program
S11	Large community hospital in the Southwestern EEUU Private	Mentoring program in the Emergency Department t/ 8 weeks	3 mentees 3 mentors	Helped transitioning registered nurses adjust to the role of emergency nurses	The registered nurses were introduced to the emergency department through a 10- week orientation, where they followed their assigned preceptors through the department´s guidelines. After this period, they were paired with seasoned emergency department nurses. The mentoring program consisted of direct observational oversight, weekly meetings between mentors and mentees, frequent visitations with stakeholders and data collection and analyze. During the first week, they worked on the same shift but managed their own patients. The last 2 weeks of the program were intended for electronic mentoring.	The program helped mentees feel more supported and mentors more empowered; it also improved teamwork significantly, created camaraderie, intensified confidence levels, enhanced professionalism and boosts morale across the emergency department. The program positively impacted both retention and job satisfaction.	The Mentoring Competency Assessment The Intent to Stay/Leave Diagnostic Survey