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Staffing
These experienced veterans serve as
educators to early-career nurses, guide
clinical decision-making in hospitals,
and play a crucial role in helping new
graduates transition and thrive. For a
new perioperative nurse, a preceptor
is likely to be the primary source of
both theoretical knowledge and practical
skills, ranging from sterile technique
to handling complex equipment to anticipating
surgeon needs in the midst of
high-stress procedures.
Additionally, regular interaction with
preceptors has been shown to significantly
reduce stress among novice
nurses and to enhance both satisfaction
and retention rates. " We all need
someone we can talk to, " said Peterson,
who is responsible for guiding
ANA's Department of Nursing Practice
and Work Environment, the Center for
Ethics and Human Rights, and the Minority
Fellowship Program. " If I need
somebody to talk to about a patient, or
a situation with a peer, or where I want
to go as a professional, all of that is
infinitely clearer when I have someone I
can trust to have that discussion. "
However, serving as a preceptor
also means additional workload and
extensive training-often at a nurse's
own expense. Bipartisan legislation introduced
in January 2025 called the
PRECEPT Nurses Act would provide a
$2,000 tax credit for nurses who serve
as a clinical preceptor to nursing students,
ensuring more nursing students
can receive clinical training and enter
the workforce-helping to combat shortages
and burnout. " This legislation
paves the way to increase patients' access
to care through the development
of a growing pipeline for nurses, including
CRNAs, " says American Association
of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) President
Janet Setnor, MSN, CRNA, Col.
(Ret), USAFR, NC, in a related release.
Connecting virtually
With the latest technology, a preceptor
or other mentor need not necessarily
www.ormanager.com
be on-site. Virtual nursing is already
being widely implemented to help hospitals
cover the gaps in their nursing
workforce. As of 2024, 46% of hospital
leaders were trying out or had already
instituted virtual nursing-and 74% of
hospital leaders see virtual nursing as
an integral part of how care is provided
moving forward. This includes " virtual
sitting " (watching over patients with
video and audio tools), but it can often
extend into support for clinical decisionmaking,
documentation, and even nurse
mentorship as well.
With technology tools offered
by companies like LookDeep, virtual
nurses can provide real-time expertise
to more novice nurses. A virtual nurse
acts as a mentor supporting bedside
staff, the company notes on its website.
The virtual nurse can provide experienced
input, support specific procedures,
and serve as a " more senior
colleague who is always available " -
provided that video technology is available
" quickly, easily, and everywhere in
the hospital. "
To make mentorship more broadly
accessible, there are also a number of
virtual mentorship programs available to
nurses looking for professional and personal
guidance. This includes the ANA's
Virtual Mentorship program, founded
in 2015. The program has evolved in
response to surveys. Cohorts now meet
over the course of 8 months, and there
are weekly discussions hosted by community
leaders, webinars for mentors
and mentees, and additional online resources.
While
there are advantages to faceto-face
interactions, Peterson says
virtual connection opens up additional
avenues for mentorship and " a relationship
can still be built-particularly if
there's a strong match. "
Whether in-person or virtual, nurse
mentorship programs require support at
the institutional level to succeed, she
says. At larger institutions hiring thousands
of nurses, establishing a nurse
mentorship program is a major undertaking.
" The C-suite has to buy in-they
have to say, 'This is important and we
have to invest in it.' "
And that buy-in has to extend to leadership
at all levels, adds Griffen. " Not
just the chief nursing officer, but the
unit nurse and the floor nurse. "
Ultimately, the nursing code of ethics
" calls on us to support each other, "
Peterson says. " None of us functions
alone, and we all need support. " ORM
-Brita Belli is an award-winning writer
and PR professional with published
stories in The New York Times, National
Geographic, MSN.com, and Alternet.
References
American Nurses Foundation. New
Survey: Different Career Stages in
Nursing Mutually Agree Mentorship
is Beneficial. March 28, 2024.
How Virtual Nursing Solutions Empower
Patient Care. LookDeep. Accessed
January 2025.
Jung S, Kim J. The experience of good
mentoring focused on overcoming
turnover intention among millennial
nurses. Frontiers in Medicine. February
6, 2024.
Mentoring across the nursing profession:
Lessons from the ANA. Wolters
Kluwer. August 19, 2020.
Minority Fellowship Program. American
Nurses Association.
Over one-third of Americans live in
areas lacking mental health professionals.
USAFacts. July 14, 2021.
Siwicki B. 74% of hospital leaders say
virtual nursing will become integral
to acute care. Healthcare IT News.
December 10, 2024.
The Code of Ethics for Nurses with
Interpretive Statements. American
Nurses Association.
Wurmser T, Kowalski M O. The Gift of
Mentorship A Qualitative Study of a
Statewide Mentoring Program. Organization
of Nurse Leaders NJ.
OR Manager | Mar/Apr 2025 31

https://www.nursingworld.org/news/news-releases/2024/new-survey-different-career-stages-in-nursing-mutually-agree-mentorship-is-beneficial/ https://lookdeep.health/introduction-to-a-virtual-nursing-strategy/ https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2024.1288829/full https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/mentoring-across-nursing-profession https://emfp.org/ http://www.usafacts.org/articles/over-one-third-of-americans-live-in-areas-lacking-mental-health-professionals https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/74-hospital-leaders-say-virtual-nursing-will-become-integral-acute-care https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/ethics/code-of-ethics-for-nurses/ https://www.sigmarepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1587&context=convention http://www.ormanager.com

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