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Academic activities and achievements can be rolled into mentorship engagement and collaborative research activities to become professional development objectives.
Participation in mentorship programs first ensures access to vast knowledge and experience from practitioners in the field. The setting of goals by nurses will establish an effective mentor-mentee relationship in offering personalized guidance following the expressed career goals of the nurse (Mélanie Lavoie-Tremblay et al., 2019). For example, a nurse interested in growing into a leadership position would want to network with a nurse manager. They would like to learn some tips about good management practices and working around healthcare policy.
Second, collaborative research projects allow nurses to participate and foster interdisciplinary collaboration in this field and further knowledge exchange. They either integrate themselves into the already established groups of researchers or initiate work on projects referring to some of the pertinent health challenges. By doing so, nurses contribute not only to the advancement of evidence-based practice but also gain practical insights that could enhance care for the patient (Nguyen et al., 2020). For example, a nurse in the field of psychatry may decide to have a goal in collaboration with other researchers on the development of interventions about supportive care for mental health patients under treatment.
These practices resonate with the direction of Walden University toward social change, with the mandate to encourage a culture of dissemination of knowledge and collaborative problem-solving in the domain of nursing. The mentorship engagement will help develop supportive networks that would enable nurses to learn from each other’s experiences and perspectives in an inclusive and collaborative environment created within the profession.
Through collaborative research efforts, nurses are better positioned and empowered to take up their roles as key players in developing new knowledge and innovation in critical health problems that directly affect society. They help further develop others in the profession through mentorship and research engagement while enhancing professional development and the mission for improved healthcare outcomes and health equity. At the core, the nurse is championing the pathway for an equitable and sustainable system of care, which integrates academic goals as part of the mission for the career.
