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Approaches to mentoring: how to mentor and be mentored.

Mentoring has its origins in Greek mythology with Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. Disguised as a man and calling herself Mentor, Athena became surrogate parent to Telemachus, whose father, Odysseus, was away during the Trojan War. Mentor/ Athena guided and nurtured the boy who would become the future king of Ithaca. Mentoring, traditionally viewed as an intense relationship between novice and expert, promotes a newcomer’s socialization and role success. A yearning for this exclusive dyadic relationship may occur at times of career transition; however, many other kinds of satisfying helping relationships that vary in structure, formality, and intensity can be experienced over the course of a professional life. The outcomes of these usually time-limited relationships, such as coaching, teaching and advising, peer group relationships, or professional development programs, depend on the commitment of the parties involved, the goals of the relationship, and whether they have evolved naturally or have been assigned (National Educational Association&The Professional andOrganizational Development Network in Higher Education [NEA & POD], 2004a, 2004b). Given time and appropriate conditions, mentoring could occur. The purposes of this column are to draw on research evidence to describe the personal and professional qualities necessary for initiating and successfully implementing a mentor–mentee relationship, describe briefly the phases and tasks inherent in relationship development, differentiate mentoring and its subrole functions, and consider the merits and shortcomings of formal mentoring programs. Nurse practitioners (NPs) are invited to reflect on their personal and professional qualities, desires, and needs, and to consider participating in mentoring programs should they be offered by their professional organizations.