Group mentoring: A story of transition for undergraduate baccalaureate nursing students

SummaryBackgroundGroup mentoring has been endorsed as an effective method of supporting novice professionals across disciplines. In one university, faculty revised the undergraduate nursing curriculum to include a group mentoring course as a requirement of students during the four semesters they are enrolled in the nursing program.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to explore the lived experience of undergraduate nursing students participating in a group mentoring course.DesignThis study used a hermeneutic interpretive phenomenological method.Setting and ParticipantsData were collected from 22 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in group mentoring courses at a private Midwestern university in the United States.MethodsAt the end of each semester of mentoring, students provided written responses to five open-ended questions about their experiences of participating in the mentoring courses.ResultsFour themes emerged: conversation, communication, connection, and cohesion.ConclusionGroup mentoring was an effective way to support nursing students as they transitioned from undergraduate student to novice professional nurse.