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Mentoring community-based trainee assistant practitioners: a case study.

The healthcare workforce is changing, and the introduction of assistant practitioner roles in the community presents exciting opportunities for the unregistered workforce. Healthcare assistants wishing to become assistant practitioners are undertaking foundation degrees. During this period of study,...

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Published in:British Journal of Community Nursing Vol. 17; no. 7; pp. 328 - 333
Main Author: Griggs, Chloe
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Mark Allen Holdings Limited Jul2012
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      pub: Mark Allen Holdings Limited
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        atl: Mentoring community-based trainee assistant practitioners: a case study.
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        au: Griggs, Chloe
        affil: Senior Lecturer, Canterbury Christ Church University
      sug:
        subj:
          Community Health Services
          Certified Nursing Assistants Education
          Mentorship
          Human
          England
          Case Studies
          Qualitative Studies
          Exploratory Research
          Semi-Structured Interview
          Focus Groups
          Purposive Sample
          Grounded Theory
          Audiorecording
      ab: The healthcare workforce is changing, and the introduction of assistant practitioner roles in the community presents exciting opportunities for the unregistered workforce. Healthcare assistants wishing to become assistant practitioners are undertaking foundation degrees. During this period of study, they require support and supervision from a mentor to perform competencies; however, mentors are often poorly prepared for this role. This small-scale qualitative exploratory study sought to gain trainee assistant practitioner (TAP), mentor and management perspective on the level of support needed. Findings indicate that TAPs struggle for recognition and student/learner status; there was an assumption that mentors would be adequately equipped to mentor TAPs, and poor mentor preparation was linked to negative student experiences. This article considers the key factors, time and commitment, required to support TAP learners in the workplace. Further, it questions who is best placed to mentor TAPs. Recommendations include an increased level of preparation for mentors, a joint induction programme for TAPs and mentors, a raised profile of the assistant practitioner role within the wider healthcare team, recognition of the TAP as a learner, and allocated time for quality mentorship.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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