The Anesthesia Record

This month's Student News article features SRNA and guest author, William Self.  I'd like to extend a massive, Olympic pool sized thank you to Bill for contributing to his thoughts and time to the Student News column this month!

Culture of Caring

“Mentoring is a brain to pick, an ear to listen,

and a push in the right direction.”  - John Crosby

Success is achieved through understanding the motivations and emulating the actions of other successful individuals.  How we chose to behave as parents, friends, spouses, citizens, and practitioners is largely due to the values and knowledge impressed upon us by our mentors.  Through their dedication and investment in our personal and professional lives, these individuals provide each of us with the tools necessary to succeed.  As we transition from comfortable and confident ICU nurses to the new and unfamiliar roles of students and anesthesia professionals, the importance of mentoring to our success as nurse anesthetists cannot be overstated.  Likewise, transitioning from the role of mentee to mentor is vital to the success of future SRNAs and the CRNA profession as a whole.  William Self, RN, BSN will further discuss the topic of positive mentoring as this month’s guest columnist.  William, a senior student nurse anesthetist and President of his class at the University of North Florida, is a vocal advocate for student issues and professional involvement. 

Guest Columnist William Self, RN, BSN

I want to congratulate Ms. Amy Young for her election to the Student Representative position within the AANA Education Committee. I would also like to thank her for giving me this opportunity to contribute. Thank You Amy!

As all of us know by this point in our education, nurse anesthesia school is hard! So what can we do to continue to move forward and obtain the goal we have set for ourselves with some sanity? We can adopt a positive mindset. “What does that mean” you ask? I say let’s create a culture of caring for ourselves, for our classmates and for those to follow in our footsteps down the road of becoming a nurse anesthetist. 

The student’s positive mental attitude is critical to the success of his/her development into the profession and of becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. A positive attitude begins in training, didactically and clinically. We as students must be open to receiving guidance and feedback from institutional instructors and clinical preceptors. Approaching your clinical day dreading being asked about the top drawer medications by your preceptor is the wrong attitude. If you really give it some consideration, how else can the preceptor assess where we are and provide us with the opportunity to learn and apply our didactic knowledge? The preceptor has an obligation to observe our technical skills and ask questions to assess our clinical and didactic knowledge. Clinical preceptors have a tough job; they have to protect their patients and provide quality anesthesia while also providing students with the best opportunity to learn. This balancing act can become taxing. As students we need to be cognizant of the fact we have a lot to learn from every clinical preceptor we are paired with. As a few of us have experienced, some preceptors are very particular in their practice, while others will allow the student to have more autonomy and make more clinical decisions. Always keep in mind that the preceptor may have experienced a clinical situation which has caused them to be less willing to try techniques in which they are not comfortable. Take the opportunity to learn a new skill or technique and make the best of each clinical day.

Clinical preceptors and mentors are different however. Clinical preceptors help smooth the rough edges and shape us, the students, into capable nurse anesthetists. Mentors, on the other hand, help to develop not only our clinical skills, but also our interpersonal relationships within the profession and the AANA. Being a good mentor is a long term commitment and requires having the desire to help others. Mentoring requires being approachable and having excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Generally, nurses would be described in this way. We practice our therapeutic communication skills with our patients on a daily basis, but sometimes we forget to practice this important skill with each other. Being a positive influence as a mentor has been proven to help new practitioners flourish in a new profession.¹  Being a good mentor starts with being a good mentee. Practice makes perfect. Many nurse anesthesia programs across the country have mentor programs set up for their students. These programs pair a second year student with a new first year student. The goal is for the second year student to pass along their tips for success in the classroom and clinical arenas.  The first year student benefits from having someone who has just been in their shoes and can give some much needed advice for what to expect next. 

Communication is the key to unlocking the doors of success. Good communication starts with having the understanding of when you need to listen and when you should talk and discuss your concerns. As students we have an obligation to listen to our faculty members and clinical preceptors. As mentors to underclassmen, we have the obligation to not only listen, but to provide a positive influence for our fellow students. Once we finish our anesthesia training and transition into our professional roles, we now have the chance to be a positive example to students and newly graduated anesthetists we encounter in our practice. It has been said to treat others the way you wish to be treated yourself. I cannot think of a better statement when it comes to being a mentor. By providing a positive example to new students, the attitude of caring can be passed along to the next generation of nurse anesthetists, making our profession even stronger. 

In conclusion, I would encourage you to embody the positive change you want to see. This sentiment applies to not only nurse anesthesia school and your anesthesia practice, but life as a whole. Find a mentor who you can build a professional relationship with to enhance your anesthesia school and professional experiences. Next, mentor an underclassman or newly graduated CRNA. I find a great deal of satisfaction when I am able to provide a moment of clarity for my mentee. It is my belief you will find the same feeling of gratification when you step out and choose to get involved and become a mentor. 

I would like to dedicate this article to memory of James P. Stoddard, CRNA. He was a great CRNA, mentor and friend.

References

1.       Madlock, P, Kennedy-Lightsey, C. The Effects of Supervisors’ Verbal Aggressiveness And Mentoring On Their Subordinates. Journal of Business Communication. 2010;47(1):42-62.