The Value of Preparing PhD Students as Research Mentors: Application of Kram's Temporal Mentoring Model

Abstract

The ability to successfully mentor others is an essential skill necessary for building and strengthening an infrastructure of well-prepared nurse faculty to accelerate advancements in nursing science. Mentoring is a fundamental part of the nurse faculty role, but new faculty are often unprepared to take on mentoring roles early in their academic career. Applied training in research mentoring initiated during doctor of philosophy (PhD) programs may better prepare future faculty to manage teaching and mentoring responsibilities earlier and with greater confidence. The unique opportunity exists for PhD students to engage in research mentoring with undergraduate nursing students, with probable benefits for both the mentor and the mentee. This manuscript uses Kram's temporal mentoring model as a guide to examine the training experiences of 3 PhD students mentoring undergraduate nursing students and discusses the benefits and challenges associated with these mentoring relationships. Collectively, these experiences provide preliminary support and guidance for the development and adoption of formal PhD mentor training programs to better prepare future PhD nursing faculty for their mentoring responsibilities.

Keywords: Education; Mentor programs; Mentor training; Nursing; Peer mentoring; PhD programs.