Nurse mentorship program offers support, guidance to new nurses

“The most rewarding thing is seeing young nurses blossom”

By Sandra Oloyede, Registered Nurse
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
Published Tuesday, January 31, 2023

My name is Sandra Oloyede and I'm a Registered Nurse, currently working in the Urgent Care department at Concordia Hospital.

Over the eight years of my career, I've worked at a variety of health care facilities – I started my career working on the Med/Peds unit in Portage La Prairie Hospital, and then transferred to the Lower Acuity Unit (previously the medicine/telemetry unit) at Seven Oaks General Hospital. While at SOGH, I was a bedside nurse as well as a nursing preceptor to nursing students in their final year at the University of Manitoba and Red River College.

Since the start of the pandemic, I've been at Concordia, where I've trained and worked across various areas of the Urgent Care department. I'm currently working on my Master of Nursing with a leadership focus through Athabasca University. With my degree, I hope to work in roles related to patient safety, leadership and improving systems and processes in the healthcare environment.

I also volunteer to take on senior practicum nursing students, and recently became a mentor to new grade nurses in my area.

I became a nurse mentor to because I really enjoy helping others. I always think back to the time when I was new grad nurse, and how helpful having a mentor and other supportive nurses helped me become confident in my skills and my role.

I believe that mentorship is so important in this profession, because we navigate so much in our career as nurses. Having a supportive team, or better still, a designated and dedicated nurse mentor who young nurses can turn to for guidance, and who can be an example is key to ensuring their success. The role of nursing continues to evolve and, in these times, where we continue to be challenged by the impacts of the pandemic, and the added pressures of the other challenges the health system is facing, a mentorship program is a great tool to support new nurses.

I think the nurse mentorship program should be the norm in every work area, and I hope more nurses start to see the benefit and volunteer to support new nurses through the program. I would tell anyone who was interested to do it, because it is so fulfilling – the most rewarding thing is seeing young nurses blossom and come into their own as nurses, and knowing that they were able to navigate the challenges of being new to the profession and advance in their careers in part because of you.

More information on how to become a nurse or obtain additional training to upgrade your health care skills, contact [email protected] or visit professionals.wrha.mb.ca/nursing/recruitment/