Mentoring a New Nurse in the Emergency Unit: A Reflective Essay

CASE STUDY 

You have been working in an emergency unit for the last 2 years. A new registered nurse who has worked in aged care for the last 5 years joins the unit. Although enjoying working in the unit, the new staff member finds it hard to adjust to the fast pace in the ward. You have been asked to mentor this person.

REFLECTIVE QUESTIONS

1. How will you and the new staff member grow and maintain the relationship?

2. What support systems would you expect from your workplace to support mentoring?

3. How do you and the new staff member continue your relationship as you move from mentor to colleague?

Summary of Assessment Requirements

This assessment requires the student to analyse a workplace scenario involving a registered nurse mentoring a new staff member transitioning from aged care to an emergency unit. The task focuses on evaluating the student’s ability to apply mentoring principles, reflective practice, and workplace communication strategies.

The student must answer three reflective questions that explore:

• How the mentor–mentee relationship can be developed and maintained

• What workplace support systems are necessary to enable effective mentoring

• How the relationship can evolve as both individuals transition from mentor–mentee to colleagues

The responses must demonstrate understanding of mentorship principles, organisational support mechanisms, teamwork, communication strategies, and professional development in a healthcare context.

How the Academic Mentor Guided the Student 

Step 1: Understanding the Case Scenario

The Academic Mentor first helped the student clearly interpret the scenario. The mentor explained the key context:

• The student (acting as the mentor) has emergency unit experience

• The new staff member is transitioning from aged care

• The challenge involves adjusting to a fast-paced environment

• The task requires reflective, relationship-focused responses

This allowed the student to identify the core themes: mentorship, adaptation, support, and collaboration.

Step 2: Breaking Down Each Reflective Question

The mentor guided the student to address each question individually, ensuring clarity and relevance.

• For Question 1, the mentor encouraged the student to think about communication, trust-building, regular check-ins, mutual feedback, and establishing a professional rapport.

• For Question 2, the mentor explained how to identify workplace resources such as orientation programs, supervisor support, training, peer shadowing, and professional development opportunities.

• For Question 3, the mentor guided the student to consider how professional relationships evolve, focusing on mutual respect, shared responsibilities, ongoing collaboration, and maintaining open communication.

This step ensured the student responded reflectively rather than descriptively.

Step 3: Linking Responses to Real-World Healthcare Practice

The mentor helped the student base their answers on realistic workplace behaviour within an emergency unit, including:

• Maintaining patient safety

• Supporting new staff under pressure

• Promoting teamwork and confidence

• Encouraging continuous learning

This strengthened the quality and practicality of the student’s responses.

Step 4: Ensuring Professional Tone and Structure

The mentor guided the student on how to write in a clear, reflective, professional tone. Each answer had to:

• Directly address the question

• Provide reasoning or examples

• Reflect an understanding of mentoring principles

• Align with workplace expectations in nursing practice

Step 5: Final Review and Learning Outcomes

The mentor worked with the student to revise the final answers and ensure the assessment met the competency requirements. Through this process, the student demonstrated learning in the following areas:

• Understanding the role and responsibilities of a mentor

• Applying reflective practice in nursing

• Recognising organisational support systems for staff development

• Maintaining professional relationships within a healthcare team

• Supporting new staff during transition to new clinical environments

Outcome

By following the structured guidance, the student successfully developed well-reasoned reflective responses that met the assessment requirements. The final answers clearly showed the student’s understanding of mentorship, teamwork, workplace communication, and professional collaboration in a nursing context, ensuring a strong, competent submission.

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