What is a Good Mentor?

‘Derek, can I ask you a question?’ You never know what will follow this when sitting in the crew room on station, waiting to start a shift. ‘Of course.’ One of my colleagues asked me what makes a good mentor, or practice educator. He has been allocated a third year BSc student to mentor over the coming 10 weeks and wanted to be the best mentor he could be. This got me thinking…

Having completed 3 years at university, clocking up a lot of placement hours and 10 months as a newly qualified paramedic (NQP), I have seen and experienced a lot of good mentorship and some that may have required some development. So what do I think makes a good mentor, and what support do I need and want as an NQP?

Firstly, I require support at the correct level, taking into account my knowledge and experience. While I may not have a lot of experience, compared with those who have completed the internal Diploma route, I have all the underpinning knowledge and I am a registered paramedic. I need a mentor to be respectful of my knowledge while creating a positive learning environment so that experiential learning can happen throughout the shift. There may be instances where I am comfortable with assessment and clinical decision-making and others where I require some support. I have enough self-awareness to know when to ask for help and guidance—and I do so regularly. Open and honest feedback is welcome throughout the shift but, equally, a good mentor should be open to feedback and questions also. In the Scottish Ambulance Service, NQPs work with another paramedic for their first 6 months. This allows time to settle into your own ways or working and become more comfortable with clinical decision-making. At first, I was sceptical about this, thinking that it would be the same relationship as ‘student/mentor’ from third year at university—thankfully, I was wrong. The paramedics I worked with let me develop my own practice, providing the correct level of support.