Some of the most pressing challenges facing the nursing profession involve job satisfaction, retention, and leadership. Mentoring, at any level and in any practice setting, supports nurses in their professional roles, assists them in setting future goals, and builds their confidence. Mentoring is important at any career stage, from new graduates just entering the profession, to more seasoned nurses seeking greater leadership opportunities, to nurse executives, researchers, and faculty.
At the past five biennial conventions, the members of the Global Leadership Mentoring Community (GLMC) have hosted a panel presentation that shares the importance of mentoring. Led by Dr. Ellen Buckner, this volunteer group is composed of nurses from various practice settings around the world. While this is not an official Sigma program, Sigma headquarters supports this volunteer-led initiative and provides resources on The Circle for the participants to connect.
In the 2022-2023 cohort of the GLMC, Beth Desaretz Chiatti (mentor, USA) and Ruth Oshikanlu (mentee, United Kingdom) were matched as a mentor-mentee dyad. Both Beth and Ruth made a commitment to nurture the mentoring relationship and support each other in their scholarly goals. They took the time to learn about each other’s past accomplishments, current work, and future goals. As two seasoned professionals, they both felt great respect for each other and, in fact, mentored each other. Ruth and Beth have years of professional nursing experience, as well as research, scholarship, leadership, and mentoring. They had an excellent collaborative and supportive mentoring relationship which benefited both mentor and mentee. They met via Zoom monthly to align their goals and communicated via WhatsApp for informal conversations and updates in between virtual meetings.
Goals and accomplishments
As a mentor, Beth’s goals were to support Ruth and to collaborate on scholarly endeavours. In this role, Beth learned about her own leadership and how to help support another nurse. Together, they were able to accomplish a lot of rewarding work. They co-authored a chapter of a book, Mentoring in Nursing through Narrative Stories Across the World. This chapter highlighted the need for courageous leadership in nursing and drew on examples from their individual experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and their collaboration after the pandemic. They discussed how they individually and collectively demonstrated courage in championing nurse education and leadership to meet the needs of those populations they serve. They presented more about this experience at biennial convention in 2023.
In addition, Ruth encouraged Beth to look at her professional achievements and learn how to promote herself to seek professional recognition, forcing her to step out of her comfort zone. Beth sought two fellowships and plans to seek additional opportunities in the future. She was named a Fellow of the Transcultural Nursing Society Scholars in October 2023.
As a mentee, Ruth’s goals were to continue writing for publication and to lead more on a global level. Since beginning the GLMC cohort, Ruth contributed to chapters in three books.
Ruth was also named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, an achievement she hopes will inspire other nurses and midwives from minoritized ethnic groups to be more visible about their expertise and to publicly celebrate the difference they make to the populations they serve.
Additionally, both Ruth and Beth were selected as Fellows of the Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery Royal College of Surgeons Ireland (FFNMRCSI) in December 2023.
Global leadership
Global leadership was a focus of their work together. As one of Ruth’s goals was to further develop her global leadership skills, she completed the International Council of Nurses’ Global Nursing Leadership Institute. Ruth developed a programme of support for nurses and midwives living with Long COVID to enable them to remain in employment. She also collaborated with senior nursing leaders based in the World Health Organisation Europe Region to ensure nurses and midwives who train outside their home countries are not exploited and are treated fairly to ensure retention and career progression. Ruth also worked with other nurses to co-author a chapter on cultural advocacy in a book about global nursing leadership.
Future plans and recommendations
Beth and Ruth plan to continue to collaborate, and their goals include writing and publishing, presenting at conferences, and furthering the importance of global leadership in nursing. They recommend any nurse, whatever their level or scope of practice, to seek a mentor and be a mentor. Whether you are a student, early career nurse, seasoned nurse, nurse educator, nurse leader, policymaker, or executive nurse, put yourself forward to be mentored and/or to be a mentor. As nurses, it is our responsibility to support each other by bringing colleagues forward. Mentoring makes a positive impact.
Dr. Beth Desaretz Chiatti, PhD, MSN, RN, CTN, CSN, FFNMRCSI, is an Associate Professor at Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. She is a member of Sigma’s Nu Eta Chapter.
Dr. Ruth Oshikanlu, MSc, BSc, RN, RM, RSCPHN (HV), QN, FRCN, FRSPH, FFNMRCSI, is a global nurse consultant and social entrepreneur. She is a member of Sigma’s Phi Mu Chapter.