- Email: [email protected]
The art of mentoring
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The Art of Mentoring
Mary Jagim, RN, BSN, CEN, Fargo, ND
Mary Jagim, Manager of Emergency Center and Walk-in Clinics, MeritCare Medical Center, Fargo, ND, is president of the Emergency Nurses Association and a member of the Prairie Crossroads chapter; E-mail: [email protected]. J Emerg Nurs 2001;27:107-8. Copyright © 2001 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/2001 $35.00 + 0 18/61/114547 doi:10.1067/men.2001.114547
My mother graduated from St Mary’s School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn, in 1939. When I was young, she worked in a nursing home. I spent a lot of time there during my youth, often just helping out with the residents until I was 12 years old and they decided to put me on the payroll. My mother ran a “tight ship,” as they say, and set high standards of care for the staff she supervised. Yet it was obvious to me that they all respected her very much— staff and residents alike—because of her compassion and commitment to the people whose lives had been entrusted to her for their care. I will always remember finding her early one morning, sitting at the bedside of a resident doing a heat lamp treatment on a decubitus. As she sat there, she and the resident were saying morning prayers together. Although my mother never acquired the advanced skills and knowledge that we have now, she innately possessed the art of caring. She taught me to take the time to care for the whole patient. She said that nursing was a lot of hard work and that I should remember that common sense and tact can go a long way. I often remember her words when I am in challenging situations. I encountered my next mentor as a new nursing graduate in the emergency department of St Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Minn. This mentor was, and still is, a staff nurse there. I was scared to death, and as is the case with most new emergency nurses, I received my baptism by fire. However, this nurse was always there to support me without criticism or condescension. He encouraged me to study and to learn, making sure I attended local educational conferences. His greatest gift was showing me that emergency nursing was not just a job, but a profession and a way of life. He also encouraged me to share my talents as an emergency nurse with my community as well. Before I
April 2001 27:2
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
W hat does being a mentor mean? What qualities make a “good mentor”? Where does one find a willing “mentoree”? In my desire to be a good mentor, I have often pondered these very questions. I know that I have been blessed with many great mentors in my life and that mentoring is a gift I wish to share with other emergency nurses. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a mentor is a trusted advisor or teacher. When I reflect back on the mentors I have had, I realize that they all had very similar qualities. First, they were very patient with my endless questions as I tried to acquire some of their skills or knowledge. My mentors were not threatened by my desire to improve myself; rather, they were delighted to share their talents. They invited me to be a part of something bigger, whether it was learning to care for a critical patient, joining ENA, or helping to write a bill for the state legislature. Their message was, “Come and join me. Your talents are needed and your participation is welcomed.” In addition, they were all people who led by example. To illustrate this quality, I would like to share stories with you about two of my mentors.
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE/Jagim
knew what was happening, I was out teaching community CPR classes and volunteering to be on the medical team for Grandma’s Marathon. After 34 years as a staff nurse in the emergency department, my mentor is still sharing his wisdom. When I became president of ENA, he wrote to me that “Our legacy after we are gone from our profession will not be the awards we gather, but the people whose lives we have touched by our deeds.” I have had many mentors since then—other friends and nurses and many colleagues within ENA who have helped me become a nursing leader. I know that without their mentoring and guidance, I would not be president of ENA today. Every day new nurses are starting work in emergency departments, and they are also scared to death, just as you and I were. My hope is that they all have a mentor such as the one I had to teach them the art and science of emergency nursing and to guide them to be leaders in their own right. As we face the years of the nursing shortage ahead, mentoring will be critical to our survival and success. I challenge each of you to recall your mentors. What was it about them that had a positive impact on you and your career? Then share that experience with the novice emergency nurses in your department who are secretly praying for a mentor to come along and guide them.
Reviewers’ Acknowledgment The Journal of Emergency Nursing gratefully acknowledges the time, effort, expertise, and advice donated by the following reviewers of this issue’s content. June Andrea Evie Bain Sue Barnason Dennis Emerson Noreen Fewer Iris Frank Linda Gehring Nicki Gilboy Maggi Gunnels
108
Kacey Hansen Karen Hayes Jill Jones Mary Kamienski Karla Kendrick Jane Koziol-McLain Genell Lee Dixie Link Susan MacLean
Kay McClain Linda Scheetz Robert Schwab Jaye Sengewald T Smith Suzanne Wall Linda Yee Polly Gerber Zimmermann
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
27:2 April 2001
The Art of Mentoring
Mary Jagim, RN, BSN, CEN, Fargo, ND
Mary Jagim, Manager of Emergency Center and Walk-in Clinics, MeritCare Medical Center, Fargo, ND, is president of the Emergency Nurses Association and a member of the Prairie Crossroads chapter; E-mail: [email protected]. J Emerg Nurs 2001;27:107-8. Copyright © 2001 by the Emergency Nurses Association. 0099-1767/2001 $35.00 + 0 18/61/114547 doi:10.1067/men.2001.114547
My mother graduated from St Mary’s School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn, in 1939. When I was young, she worked in a nursing home. I spent a lot of time there during my youth, often just helping out with the residents until I was 12 years old and they decided to put me on the payroll. My mother ran a “tight ship,” as they say, and set high standards of care for the staff she supervised. Yet it was obvious to me that they all respected her very much— staff and residents alike—because of her compassion and commitment to the people whose lives had been entrusted to her for their care. I will always remember finding her early one morning, sitting at the bedside of a resident doing a heat lamp treatment on a decubitus. As she sat there, she and the resident were saying morning prayers together. Although my mother never acquired the advanced skills and knowledge that we have now, she innately possessed the art of caring. She taught me to take the time to care for the whole patient. She said that nursing was a lot of hard work and that I should remember that common sense and tact can go a long way. I often remember her words when I am in challenging situations. I encountered my next mentor as a new nursing graduate in the emergency department of St Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth, Minn. This mentor was, and still is, a staff nurse there. I was scared to death, and as is the case with most new emergency nurses, I received my baptism by fire. However, this nurse was always there to support me without criticism or condescension. He encouraged me to study and to learn, making sure I attended local educational conferences. His greatest gift was showing me that emergency nursing was not just a job, but a profession and a way of life. He also encouraged me to share my talents as an emergency nurse with my community as well. Before I
April 2001 27:2
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
W hat does being a mentor mean? What qualities make a “good mentor”? Where does one find a willing “mentoree”? In my desire to be a good mentor, I have often pondered these very questions. I know that I have been blessed with many great mentors in my life and that mentoring is a gift I wish to share with other emergency nurses. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a mentor is a trusted advisor or teacher. When I reflect back on the mentors I have had, I realize that they all had very similar qualities. First, they were very patient with my endless questions as I tried to acquire some of their skills or knowledge. My mentors were not threatened by my desire to improve myself; rather, they were delighted to share their talents. They invited me to be a part of something bigger, whether it was learning to care for a critical patient, joining ENA, or helping to write a bill for the state legislature. Their message was, “Come and join me. Your talents are needed and your participation is welcomed.” In addition, they were all people who led by example. To illustrate this quality, I would like to share stories with you about two of my mentors.
107
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE/Jagim
knew what was happening, I was out teaching community CPR classes and volunteering to be on the medical team for Grandma’s Marathon. After 34 years as a staff nurse in the emergency department, my mentor is still sharing his wisdom. When I became president of ENA, he wrote to me that “Our legacy after we are gone from our profession will not be the awards we gather, but the people whose lives we have touched by our deeds.” I have had many mentors since then—other friends and nurses and many colleagues within ENA who have helped me become a nursing leader. I know that without their mentoring and guidance, I would not be president of ENA today. Every day new nurses are starting work in emergency departments, and they are also scared to death, just as you and I were. My hope is that they all have a mentor such as the one I had to teach them the art and science of emergency nursing and to guide them to be leaders in their own right. As we face the years of the nursing shortage ahead, mentoring will be critical to our survival and success. I challenge each of you to recall your mentors. What was it about them that had a positive impact on you and your career? Then share that experience with the novice emergency nurses in your department who are secretly praying for a mentor to come along and guide them.
Reviewers’ Acknowledgment The Journal of Emergency Nursing gratefully acknowledges the time, effort, expertise, and advice donated by the following reviewers of this issue’s content. June Andrea Evie Bain Sue Barnason Dennis Emerson Noreen Fewer Iris Frank Linda Gehring Nicki Gilboy Maggi Gunnels
108
Kacey Hansen Karen Hayes Jill Jones Mary Kamienski Karla Kendrick Jane Koziol-McLain Genell Lee Dixie Link Susan MacLean
Kay McClain Linda Scheetz Robert Schwab Jaye Sengewald T Smith Suzanne Wall Linda Yee Polly Gerber Zimmermann
JOURNAL OF EMERGENCY NURSING
27:2 April 2001