Abstract
There is a strong correlation between effective leadership in nursing and the provision of high quality care to patients (Harris et al 2014). Recent revelations in relation to poor care practices within the nursing profession, have highlighted the need for strong leadership in the healthcare setting (Francis 2013). Mentors and practice teachers are required to demonstrate leadership as part of both their nursing and facilitative role. In addition they are responsible for developing effective leadership skills within their students who once registrants, will be expected to demonstrate these skills in practice.
This article aims to provide guidance for both new and established mentors and practice teachers in relation to the domain of Leadership, specifically stage 2 Mentor and stage 3 Practice teacher, (the specific outcomes can be found in Box 1). How mentors can foster these skills will be discussed in relation to leading by example; the text will be interspersed with these outcomes for mentors and practice teachers where they apply. The activities indicated within this article will provide the opportunity for mentors and practice teachers to generate evidence in order to map this on-going development against the NMC Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice (SSLAP 2008a).