This is a new highly practical guide to doing mentoring in practice. It explains how to support student nurses from the day that they arrive on placement in six straightforward, concise and clear chapters. The book is packed full of resources and learning features, including: nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Action plans for managing your student nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Checklists of resources you will need nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Tips for best practice nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Case studies covering all fields of nursing nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; nbsp; Reflective questions which challenge you to question your assumptions. Chapters are tied closely to the NMC standards, and cover essential topics including assessment, the role of the sign-off mentor and team-working. The Nurse Mentor's Companion is valuable reading for all nurses taking mentoring courses across the UK, and as they go on to mentor in practice.

About the Authors -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 A Guide to Mentoring -- What is a mentor? -- Your role as a mentor -- Why are clinical placements important? -- Designing an effective placement -- Learning resources -- Planning: from day one when your student nurse arrives -- The placement as a learning environment -- Interviews with your student nurse -- Assessing your student -- Chapter 2 Working with Student Nurses -- Supporting your student nurse to integrate into the practice setting -- Belongingness and resilience -- Supporting students with disabilities -- Expectations and professional boundaries -- Interprofessional working relationships -- Common challenges for mentors -- Chapter 3 The Mentor as Facilitator and Teacher -- Using knowledge of the student's stage of learning to select appropriate learning opportunities to meet their individual needs -- Professional requirements -- Meeting an individual student's learning needs -- Principles of teaching and learning -- Facilitating learning of clinical and interpersonal skills -- Styles of learning -- Supporting students to critically reflect upon their learning experiences in order to enhance future learning -- The mentor as role model -- Supporting decision-making, problem-solving and evidence-based practice for student nurses -- Chapter 4 The Mentor as Assessor -- Defining assessment and competence -- Who assesses competence in pre-registration nursing -- Fostering professional growth, personal development and accountability through practice placements -- Assessment strategies -- Preparing for assessment -- Assessment tools -- During assessment -- Accountability -- After assessment -- Supporting students who do not meet assessment requirements -- The role and responsibilities of the sign-off mentor -- Chapter 5 The Mentor as Leader -- What is leadership? -- The mentor as a leader -- Leadership and management -- Different types of leadership -- Leading the team -- Leadership and manipulation -- The learning environment -- Respecting difference -- Resources for the learning environment -- Developing confidence as a leader and mentor -- Chapter 6 Continuing Professional Development -- Methods of developing further as a mentor and nurse -- Mentor updates -- Meeting up with other mentors -- Creating a development plan for yourself -- Using evaluation, reflection and action learning to assess your mentorship -- Professional judgement and decision-making as a mentor -- Team-working -- Making links between post-registration education and practice to continuing professional development -- Glossary of Terms -- Index.