Other Titles
Rising Star Poster/Presentation - Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Background: Many nursing education programs face ongoing challenges related to the transition of sophomore nursing students into professional nursing coursework and initial clinical experiences. The coursework and clinical experiences can bring significant academic, emotional, and professional challenges for students. Peer mentorship has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to improve mentee student confidence, retention, and academic success; however, many programs lack the formal preparation and structured framework for the senior students who serve as the mentors.
Purpose: This evidence-based practice project is aimed to develop a structured peer mentorship training program to help empower the senior nursing students as they begin to serve as mentors. This will help to foster academic success and psychological support for the peer mentees while simultaneously supporting the seniors’ own educational growth, leadership development, and professional communication skills.
Methods: A review of current evidence was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, and Health Source databases to identify best practices related to peer mentoring, barriers that need to be addressed, and how to promote peer teaching and development in nursing education. The evidence was synthesized to design a mentorship program for the seniors to review and utilize that includes preparatory training, how to speak professionally, academic resources, clinical readiness, and stress management.
Results: The literature highlighted that a structured peer mentorship program with a formal training regimen for the seniors would help to bridge the gaps in mentee academic confidence, transition to clinicals, and comfortability in the role of healthcare. This training also showed enhanced leadership, professional communication, professional identity, and readiness for entry-level nursing roles in the senior mentors.
Conclusion: Implementing a structured peer mentorship program with intentional training for senior nursing students will build a more sustainable approach to development in nursing education. This framework revolves around the support of sophomore students during the critical transition period of their education while also empowering senior students to continue to strengthen their own education and stay connected to their program. This model may help to strengthen student outcomes, promote collaborative environments, and improve overall student satisfaction across nursing programs.
Notes
References:
Andersen, T., & Watkins, K. (2018). The Value of Peer Mentorship as an Educational Strategy in Nursing. Journal of Nursing Education, 57(4), 217–224. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20180322-05 (Original work published April 1, 2018)
Hancock, L. M. D. N.-B. (2022). Implementation and Evaluation of a Cloud-Based, Evidence-Based Nurse Mentor Training Program. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 38(2), 82–87. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000723
Harrington, M., Holt, D., & Fletcher, A. (2022). Mentoring: Planning and Implementing a Program in Nursing Education. ABNFF Journal, 1(1), 29–31.
Jacobs, S. (2017). A Scoping Review Examining Nursing Student Peer Mentorship. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(3), 212–223.
Lombardo, C., Wong, C., Sanzone, L., Filion, F., & Tsimicalis, A. (2017). Exploring Mentees’ Perceptions of an Undergraduate Nurse Peer Mentorship Program. Journal of Nursing Education, 56(4), 227–230. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20170323-07 (Original work published April 1, 2017)
Morales, D. X., Wagler, A. E., & Monarrez, A. (2020). BUILD Peer Mentor Training Model: Developing a Structured Peer-to-Peer Mentoring Training for Biomedical Undergraduate Researchers. UI Journal, 11(1).
Raymond, J. (2017). Effects of peer mentoring on nursing students’ perceived stress, sense of belonging, self-efficacy and loneliness. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice. https://doi.org/10.5430/JNEP.V8N1P16
Vandal, N., Leung, K., Sanzone, L., Filion, F., Tsimicalis, A., & Lang, A. (2018). Exploring the Student Peer Mentor’s Experience in a Nursing Peer Mentorship Program. Journal of Nursing Education, 57(7), 422–425. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20180618-07 (Original work published July 1, 2018)
Wong, C., Stake-Doucet, N., Lombardo, C., Sanzone, L., & Tsimicalis, A. (2016). An Integrative Review of Peer Mentorship Programs for Undergraduate Nursing Students. Journal of Nursing Education, 55(3), 141–149. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20160216-04 (Original work published March 1, 2016)
Sigma Membership
Eta Eta
Type
Poster
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Nursing Education, Nursing Students, Mentoring, Mentoring in Education, Peer Mentorship
Recommended Citation
King, Kaitlin M. and Davis, Jenna, "Empowering Seniors as Mentors: A Framework for Peer Development in Nursing Education" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 1.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2026/posters_2026/1
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2026
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
None: Event Material, Invited Presentation
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-04-24
Funder
Center for Faculty Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania
Empowering Seniors as Mentors: A Framework for Peer Development in Nursing Education
Washington, DC, USA
Background: Many nursing education programs face ongoing challenges related to the transition of sophomore nursing students into professional nursing coursework and initial clinical experiences. The coursework and clinical experiences can bring significant academic, emotional, and professional challenges for students. Peer mentorship has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to improve mentee student confidence, retention, and academic success; however, many programs lack the formal preparation and structured framework for the senior students who serve as the mentors.
Purpose: This evidence-based practice project is aimed to develop a structured peer mentorship training program to help empower the senior nursing students as they begin to serve as mentors. This will help to foster academic success and psychological support for the peer mentees while simultaneously supporting the seniors’ own educational growth, leadership development, and professional communication skills.
Methods: A review of current evidence was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed, and Health Source databases to identify best practices related to peer mentoring, barriers that need to be addressed, and how to promote peer teaching and development in nursing education. The evidence was synthesized to design a mentorship program for the seniors to review and utilize that includes preparatory training, how to speak professionally, academic resources, clinical readiness, and stress management.
Results: The literature highlighted that a structured peer mentorship program with a formal training regimen for the seniors would help to bridge the gaps in mentee academic confidence, transition to clinicals, and comfortability in the role of healthcare. This training also showed enhanced leadership, professional communication, professional identity, and readiness for entry-level nursing roles in the senior mentors.
Conclusion: Implementing a structured peer mentorship program with intentional training for senior nursing students will build a more sustainable approach to development in nursing education. This framework revolves around the support of sophomore students during the critical transition period of their education while also empowering senior students to continue to strengthen their own education and stay connected to their program. This model may help to strengthen student outcomes, promote collaborative environments, and improve overall student satisfaction across nursing programs.
Description
This session presents an evidence-based framework for implementing a structured peer mentorship program in nursing education focusing on preparing senior nursing students to mentor sophomore students as they transition into nursing coursework and early clinical experiences. Participants will learn practical strategies to enhance student confidence, professional communication, and program retention, informed by evidence review and nursing education practice from a BSN student.