Importance of the Mentor/Mentee Relationship to Quality Patient Care

Mentoring in Advanced Practice Nursing : The Use of Metaphor in Concept Exploration ' written by Nancy H . Busen that can be found in the Internet Journal of Advanced Nursing Practice in 1999 , the author states both the advantages and the disadvantages that come from a mentor-mentee relationship . In this article , the author first describes the role and responsibilities of the mentors and mentees . The author then defines the possible problems that may arise from such a relationship such as the existence of toxic ' mentors . According to the author , toxic mentors can be exemplified

using three types of metaphors : the sculptor - this type of mentor believes that the mentee will become what he or she has sculpted it to be and not because of anything else the show-biz mom - this type of mentor is too entangled with the mentee that any measure of separation or differentiation is considered unthinkable the master to a slave - this type of mentor sees his or her mentor as a slave that is bound to do all of his or her bidding regardless of what is at stake on the part of the mentee . These toxic mentors suppress the growth of their mentees both intellectually and personally . These mentors tend to overlook the capabilities of their mentees and tend to think of them as possessions and not their equals . Of these three , the last metaphor used is the worst

A famous author named Rita Mae Brown was quoted to say Good judgment comes from experience , and often experience comes from bad judgment Some mentors may influence their mentees to a point that they may pass on certain animosities that they may feel towards other nurses , doctors or even patients themselves . Gray , et al . conducted a study that was published in the Journal of Nursing in 2008 entitled...