Mentoring and nursing should be synonymous, but we often fail to mentor each other and the next generation of nurses. Do nurses have the tools needed to become effective mentors?

The National Student Nurses' Association (NSNA) has taken the lead in this arena by providing mentoring resources to NSNA members and the nursing community. In 2005 the organization produced a video, Mentoring: The Experience of a Lifetime, which won an Aegis Award for excellence the same year. Real-life mentoring relationships are profiled throughout the film.

Perhaps nursing has fallen behind other professions in recruitment and retention because of the paucity of available mentors. Mentoring requires a commitment from both the mentor and mentored. The relationship can take many forms; often professional expectations and goals are outlined and then evaluated throughout the process.

Educating nurses on mentoring has been a goal of Connie Vance, EdD, RN, FAAN, and coeditor of The Mentor Connection in Nursing. In the video, Vance describes how we "can have different mentors for different reasons in different seasons in our career."

Diane Mancino EdD, RN, executive director of the NSNA and executive producer of the video, feels that mentoring is a key element that is missing for leadership development. The video is available for purchase online at http://www.nsna.org/forms.asp, and sales from the video support programs of the NSNA, one of which provides scholarships for nursing students.

Diane Mancino EdD, RN, executive director of the NSNA and executive producer of the video, feels that mentoring is a key element that is missing for leadership development. The video is available for purchase online at http://www.nsna.org/forms. asp, and sales from the video support programs of the NSNA, one of which provides scholarships for nursing students.