Clinical Ladder Mentoring: The Impact on Nursing Professional Development

Abstract

Clinical ladder mentorship programs engage registered nurses in professional development, improve job satisfaction, and retention. The aim of this quality improvement project was to foster professional growth in early to mid-career nurses and increase clinical ladder participation rates by implementing a clinical ladder mentorship program using the Plan, Do, Study, Act cycle. Following mentorship training sessions for the Clinical Ladder Advisors, nurse mentees pursing clinical ladder advancement completed the Mentorship Effectiveness Scale survey, which evaluated the overall effectiveness of the Clinical Ladder Advisor and nurse mentee relationship and experience. One hundred percent (N=9) of the nurse mentees rated their Clinical Ladder Advisor mentors as effective and supportive while pursuing career advancement. However, clinical ladder participation rates remained flat at 2.2% compared to the previous fiscal year due to competing priorities within the organization. Future implications suggest expanding the clinical ladder mentorship program throughout the health system including the ambulatory setting, tracking and evaluating nursing turnover data system-wide, and transitioning to an electronic clinical ladder portfolio.