Collaborative Mentorship: Two Innovative Approaches for New Faculty Success.

BACKGROUND: Much like the transition from novice to experienced nurse, the transition of an experienced nurse to a nurse faculty member can be difficult and daunting. One way to prepare new nurse faculty is to establish a mentorship program. The Mentor the Mentors project (seasoned faculty) and the Mentorship Academy (new faculty) provided knowledge, tips, and resources to mentors and new nurse faculty to achieve faculty success, satisfaction, and retention. METHOD: The Mentor the Mentors project and the Mentorship Academy were implemented for 1 year. Time-lines were established for mentors for how often to meet with mentees. Selected orientation topics, such as university support services, promotion and tenure guidelines, active learning strategies, learning management system navigation, and university guidelines, were reviewed with mentees. Two-group midpoint and endpoint surveys were utilized for this descriptive pilot study. RESULTS: All mentors reported that they felt very supported and confident in their abilities to mentor to new faculty. All of the mentees reported that their participation in the Mentorship Academy empowered them to succeed in their new faculty role. CONCLUSION: Information gained will guide future program planning for faculty mentorship. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(X):XXX-XXX.].

Escape Room Relay Race: "Go for the Gold" in Formative Assessment.

BACKGROUND: Immersive learning activities, such as escape room educational gaming in nursing simulation laboratories, have proven to be effective teaching strategies that promote communication and teamwork. These activities also provide educators with opportunities to assess clinical skills competencies, as well as providing them with a means for evaluating the transfer of didactic knowledge to clinical practice. METHOD: An obstetrical skills relay race with an escape room element was created as a formative evaluation method to determine if nursing students were able to demonstrate competency related to the identified learning needs. RESULTS: The competitive aspects of this learning activity were perceived as exciting and motivating by the educators and students. CONCLUSION: An escape room-themed relay race incorporated into an obstetric skills laboratory is considered an innovative and formative evaluation method, as well as an engaging and motivating learning activity for nursing students. [J Nurs. Educ. 2020;59(11):646-650.].