Abstract
Background: The demand for psychiatric services is on the rise as rates of mental illness have increased. At the same time, the shortage of psychiatric providers is growing, leading to a mental health crisis. Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses are uniquely qualified to staff this shortage. To address this shortage, we must stabilize the workforce by increasing and retaining psychiatric healthcare providers, and it is paramount to address the job satisfaction of the Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurse.
Intervention: A PRISMA-guided review was completed to identify ways to improve Advanced Practice Nurse job satisfaction. As part of the review, multiple studies showed mentoring as an effective intervention. A mentoring network initiative was implemented in the Massachusetts region of a national outpatient psychiatric practice. The intervention started with an optional workshop for all Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses employed at the project site, and the workshop was added to orientation for newly hired Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses. A core component of the workshop was educating participants on mentoring networks. In addition to the workshop, mentoring check-ins were added to a standing Advanced Practice Nurse consult group within the practice to build interest in reciprocal peer mentoring.
Results: The Psychiatric Advance Practice Nurses that attended the workshop reported improved job satisfaction. Participation was high for new hires assigned training as part of new-hire orientation. However, attendance was low for current employees, where participation was voluntary and clinical demands were reported to be a barrier to attendance.
Conclusion: This Quality Improvement project occurred in outpatient psychiatry, though the findings can be transferred to Advanced Practice Nurses in various outpatient clinics. The mentoring workshop improved job satisfaction, but external forces must foster motivation to attend the workshop and engage in mentorship. Mentorship can be a challenge in a fee-for-service payment model where a top-down approach to mentorship may be needed to build motivation. Training Advanced Practice Nurses on mentoring networks is not enough, Leaders need to help find potential mentors and most importantly act as a mentor themselves.
Notes
References: Brayer, A., & Marcinowicz, L. (2018). Job satisfaction of nurses with master of nursing degrees in Poland: Quantitative and qualitative analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 239–239. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3053-6
Auffermann, K., O'Keefe, R., Smith, T., & Cohn, T. (2021). Exploring novice nurse practitioner job satisfaction. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 33 (10), 802-810. https://doi: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000454
Fournier, J., Lightfoot, N., Larocque, S., Johnson, J., & Eger, T. (2019). Theory of nurse practitioner job satisfaction. Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 15(4), 290–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2018.10.011
Luo, P., Tung, H., Huang, S., Kau, K., Chang, S., Shiu, S., & Tsay, S. (2022). Organizational empowerment and practice outcomes of acute care nurse practitioners in Taiwan: A national survey. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34 (1), 89-99. doi: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000592
Moss, C. (2021). Examining job satisfaction and intent to stay for neonatal nurse practitioners: The impact of mentoring. Advances in Neonatal Care, Publish Ahead of Print. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANC.0000000000000931
Jackson. D. (2020). Evaluation of a mentor's training program for nurse practitioners. Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 16(4), 286–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2019.12.006
Guevara, R. S., Montoya, J., Carmody-Bubb, M., & Wheeler, C. (2020). Physician leadership style predicts advanced practice provider job satisfaction. Leadership in Health Services (2020), 33(1), 56–72. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-06-2019-0032
Sigma Membership
Theta Alpha
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Quality Improvement
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Mentorship, Mentoring, Nurse Practitioners, Job Satisfaction, Nursing Leaders
Recommended Citation
Rand, Maria Romanoff, "The Use of Mentoring Networks to Improve Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner Job SatisfactionJo" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 83.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/83
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-23
The Use of Mentoring Networks to Improve Advanced Practice Nurse Practitioner Job SatisfactionJo
Washington, DC, USA
Background: The demand for psychiatric services is on the rise as rates of mental illness have increased. At the same time, the shortage of psychiatric providers is growing, leading to a mental health crisis. Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses are uniquely qualified to staff this shortage. To address this shortage, we must stabilize the workforce by increasing and retaining psychiatric healthcare providers, and it is paramount to address the job satisfaction of the Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurse.
Intervention: A PRISMA-guided review was completed to identify ways to improve Advanced Practice Nurse job satisfaction. As part of the review, multiple studies showed mentoring as an effective intervention. A mentoring network initiative was implemented in the Massachusetts region of a national outpatient psychiatric practice. The intervention started with an optional workshop for all Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses employed at the project site, and the workshop was added to orientation for newly hired Psychiatric Advanced Practice Nurses. A core component of the workshop was educating participants on mentoring networks. In addition to the workshop, mentoring check-ins were added to a standing Advanced Practice Nurse consult group within the practice to build interest in reciprocal peer mentoring.
Results: The Psychiatric Advance Practice Nurses that attended the workshop reported improved job satisfaction. Participation was high for new hires assigned training as part of new-hire orientation. However, attendance was low for current employees, where participation was voluntary and clinical demands were reported to be a barrier to attendance.
Conclusion: This Quality Improvement project occurred in outpatient psychiatry, though the findings can be transferred to Advanced Practice Nurses in various outpatient clinics. The mentoring workshop improved job satisfaction, but external forces must foster motivation to attend the workshop and engage in mentorship. Mentorship can be a challenge in a fee-for-service payment model where a top-down approach to mentorship may be needed to build motivation. Training Advanced Practice Nurses on mentoring networks is not enough, Leaders need to help find potential mentors and most importantly act as a mentor themselves.
Description
Mentorship has been shown to improve job satisfaction, but external forces must foster motivation to engage in mentorship and a top-down approach is needed to build motivation. Training mentoring networks is not enough; leaders need to help identify potential mentors and most importantly act as a mentor themselves.