International Distance Nurse Mentoring Program: A Pilot Project

Abstract

Professional and personal development has always been important in the field of palliative care nursing. Now as patients are increasingly culturally diverse, the ability to understand and connect across cultures is also vital. In light of this, a homecare hospice in Singapore collaborated with a nurse consultant based in the United States to pilot a 10-month cross-cultural bidirectional, distance mentoring project. The overarching goal was to explore the profession and personal benefits for nurses and to provide further information for similar international efforts. Before starting the 10-month project, the consultant met and accompanied the Singapore nurses on home visits to better understand the setting and needs. Each of the 6 Singapore home hospice teams (5 adult and 1 pediatric) was matched with a US volunteer mentor, who was an experienced home hospice nurse. The goal for each team and their mentor was to connect by video monthly to share helpful resources, discuss cases for mutual benefit, or develop a quality improvement project. Lessons learned will contribute to the field of international mentoring and collaboration.