ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Academic demands along with stressors inherent to daily life may be overwhelming for undergraduate psychiatric nursing students. Peer mentorship programs have been found to improve emotional well-being in students; however, little research is available regarding psychiatric nursing students' experiences. METHOD: Hermeneutic phenomenology was used to answer the research question: "What are the lived experiences of mentors within an undergraduate psychiatric nursing peer mentorship program?" Nine undergraduate psychiatric nursing students with experience serving as a mentor were interviewed. RESULTS: The participants expressed they gained important skills that are valued by the profession of psychiatric nursing. The themes identified included: support, empathy, the mentor-mentee relationship, active listening, and leadership. CONCLUSION: Involvement in these programs may assist with fostering these skills in undergraduate psychiatric nursing students. Offering a mentorship program for undergraduate psychiatric nursing students has been demonstrated to be valuable. [J Nurs Educ. 2021;60(10):582-585.].
