OR Manager August 2022 - 9

Leadership Series
The value of being a mentor is exponentially
greater right now with so
many nurses leaving the profession and
burning out. Mentors are also needed
now more than ever for the new generation
of nurses entering the profession
because these new professionals will
only stay if their leaders show they care
about their mental health and general
well-being.
Hospitals need to recognize the
value of mentors and have formal mentorship
programs. Facilities that have
that in place do better in their satisfaction
surveys because the nurses are not
as stressed out. Their patients do better.
I can't emphasize enough how valuable
it is to have a safe place, a person
who can help you blow off steam,
someone to whom you can say, " I'm
confused, " or, " I think I did something
wrong today, " and not fear punitive actions.
Mentorship
programs can be quite
casual; they do not have to be super
elaborate. It can be as simple as catching
up with mentees every now and then
just to see how they are doing.
I know a nurse who graduated about
6 years ago, and she is now working in
the OR. I hear from her every once in
a while, and we usually say, " Let's get
together and catch up. " Easy as that.
Our conversations can be as casual
as they come, but I have also taken
her through tearful times. I guided her
through switching work environments,
for instance. I do not mean to minimize
the importance of these conversations
when I say they can be casual.
You may not realize it, but you do
become part of that person's support
system. Being there to be a sounding
board, a coach, and the person who
helps them get on with how they need
to handle a situation, that is all part of
leadership.
You can be a mentor even in the
role of educator, that is a type of professional
mentorship. I teach a lot on
surgical smoke, which is not just a probwww.ormanager.com
lem
in the US. I have mentored many
nurses around the world, guiding them
through how they can achieve a smoke
free environment and how to handle
this workplace safety issue.
They depend on me to help them go
through the steps of becoming a leader,
essentially. When you step into the role
of an advocator and fight for safer working
conditions, you are leading.
tation slides tell a story to help them
visualize what I am saying and help
them follow along with pictures, images,
graphs, and charts. But that is the only
difference in teaching an international
audience because the passion is always
there. The passion from nurses
worldwide is very evident. They want
to have a safe workplace environment,
and they want to have safe patient care.
And leaders globally are thinking
Hospitals need
to recognize the
value of mentors
and mentorship
programs.
Q: Do you see a difference in
educating nurses in the US
versus internationally?
No, because many issues in healthcare
are universal issues, even if the politics
behind solving them may be a little different.
I am thankful that I have regular
teaching opportunities overseas. I may
be teaching via videoconferencing to
students in Singapore one day, and
then jump on another virtual nursing
conference to an audience in China the
next day to talk to them about surgical
smoke and leadership.
Surgical smoke, for instance, is
100% a global issue. My research studies
show that nurses who work in surgery
are reporting twice the incidence
of respiratory problems as compared
to the general population. That data
is probably consistent globally. Those
working in surgery are breathing something
funky that is giving them problems
like respiratory conditions, twice
as many as what you see outside the
profession.
What can be challenging is the language
barrier. I try to make my presenthrough
how to fix the same problems
we have in the US. How do you deal
with unruly surgeons? How do you get
rid of surgical smoke? How do you continually
update your nursing population
so they understand new devices on the
market? How do you ensure your department
is adequately staffed? How do
you keep your people safe? These are
universal issues.
When I travel, I see that everyone
wants the best quality of patient care.
They all have their evidence-based
guidelines backed by research. We
compare guidelines and research a lot.
When we update our own guidelines
in the US, we need to be looking at research
from other countries because it
may be applicable.
When I was exploring articles that
were recently published on the latest research
on the impact of surgical smoke,
I found that many nurses in Turkey were
doing the same sort of research. I compared
the Turkish research on the subject
with my own, and it was refreshing
to be able to talk to these nurses,
see how they solve their problems, and
learn from them. Like I said before, I
respect people who are willing to share
their knowledge. That is how we grow.
I go to New Zealand a lot on my own,
for instance. When I am there, I always
seek out the heads of nursing organizations
and educators I know and say,
" I'm in town if you need me to speak. "
Somebody usually takes me up on that.
The offer is always there. ORM
-Tarsilla Moura
OR Manager | August 2022
9
http://www.ormanager.com
OR Manager August 2022

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