Teaching Matters

28 - Hazel Maxwell

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Teaching Matters 2016 | Presentation Details | 7 DecemberDec 2016

Title

Leadership development: Enhancing staff and student mentor capability to improve engagement and retention in a two-year ‘fast track’ degree program


Author(s)

Marguerite Bramble*, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Grace Stankiewicz*, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Rochelle Einboden*, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Hazel Maxwell*, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Richard Say, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Chin Liang Beh, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Sally Farrington, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health
Graham Munro, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health
Greg Rickard, Faculty of Health


Subtheme

Students as Partners and Building an Inclusive Culture


Presentation Type

Spotlight on Practice


Room

Meeting Room


Time

14.20-15.20


Abstract

Background: The UTAS Rozelle campus offers ‘fast-track’ Nursing and Paramedicine courses. During its six years of operation, students and academics have experienced a sense of isolation from the main campuses in Tasmania, which may impact student and academic well-being. Additionally, the cohort has a high proportion of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students, many of whom are mature-aged with family and work responsibilities. An existing student-to-student mentor program on campus, led by The Community and Friends Network Program (CFNP), aims to develop student identity, capacity and connectedness.
Purpose: Building on the CFNP, this participatory action research project aims to foster engagement, leadership and mentorship capability for students and academics through a three-month ‘partnership’ intervention.
Method: CFNP student mentors were invited to participate. Nine were recruited and randomly paired with an academic (also n=9) for the intervention. Qualitative data was collected from two audio recorded pre-intervention workshops, in which academic and student cohorts separately developed terms of engagement for the intervention. The process is guided by mentorship and leadership frameworks (Tabloski, 2016; Potter and Tolson, 2014; Posluszny, 2014). Additionally, data was collected from participant reflections and a post-intervention workshop, which identified the impact of the intervention on participants.
Results: The data set was analysed thematically using NVIVO 11. Themes from the academic workshops included: role-modelling, recognising diversity, reflective practice and creating space for voice. Themes from the student workshops included: maturing as a student in one’s area of practice, reflecting on core values and additional support for CALD students.
Conclusion: Results highlight significant focus areas for future strategies to foster engagement. Despite reflecting local issues, study results also offer insights into issues for contemporary fast-track course delivery with an increasingly diverse student population.
References
Posluszny, L 2014, ‘Shaping Undergraduate Professional Identities through Mentoring and Promoting the Future of Nursing, AORN Journal, vol. 100, no. 6, pp. 566-569, viewed 21 November 2016, http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=808065e7-9610-487d-8942-fcbe0061f732%40sessionmgr4010&hid=4110
Potter, DA, Tolson, D 2014, ‘A mentoring guide for nursing faculty in higher education’.      International Journal of Caring Sciences, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 727-732, viewed 21 November 2016, http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=808065e7-9610-487d-8942-fcbe0061f732%40sessionmgr4010&vid=14&hid=4110
Tabloski, AA 2016, ‘Setting the Stage for Success: Mentoring and Leadership Development’. Journal of Professional Nursing, (Article in Press), vol. 0, no. 0, pp. 1-7, viewed 21 November 2016, http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/results?sid=808065e7-9610-487d-8942-fcbe0061f732%40sessionmgr4010&vid=15&hid=4110&bquery=TI+Setting+the+Stage+for+Success%3a+Mentoring+and+Leadership+Development&bdata=JmRiPWNjbSZzaXRlPWVkcy1saXZl

Resource

Download presentation (requires University of Tasmania login) (PDF)

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