ABSTRACT
Part of the reason for the low numbers of African-America nurses is related to nursing student attrition. One approach described to help students to successfully complete educational objectives is mentoring. Mentoring is a supportive act for both minority students and faculty. Although numerous definitions of mentoring exist it is recognized that a mentor can be a role model, confidante, friend, and support system. Mentors may be the passageway into the work force or a bypass around the many obstacles that impede success. Because of the limited African American faculty available, many are overworked and may never reach full potential, contributing to the problem of limited minority nursing faculty available to institutions of higher learning. This article describes the markers of both poor and positive mentoring universities.
