More than just helping a novice navigate the first few months on the job, a good mentor provides guidance and support  throughout a nurse’s career.

This story was reproduced from the Singapore Health Special Edition on Nursing 2016

By Rachel Chan

Excited and nervous – that was how Senior Staff Nurse Lim Leng Shan, 25, felt when she first became a nurse three years ago.

She had then just graduated from the National University of Singapore with a nursing degree, and joined the Cardiothoracic Surgery Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) at the National Heart Centre Singapore.

As a newbie, her biggest challenge was putting theory into practice when caring for critically ill patients. She also had to familiarise herself with the different life support systems.

"I was overwhelmed by how complex the CTICU was. Patients there need intensive care and depend on life support machines to maintain their vital heart and lung functions. On my first day of work, I was daunted by the number of these machines. Thankfully, my seniors guided and looked out for me,” she said.

Under the nursing preceptorship programme, all new nurses are paired with a senior nurse (preceptor, who is often looked upon as a mentor) from the same department for at least six months.

Ms Lim’s preceptor was Nurse Clinician Chia Tat Jin, 34, a 14-year veteran in the CTICU , known for his nurturing and good-natured personality. Like Ms Lim, he had started off as a staff nurse, and had worked his way to becoming a nurse manager overseeing a team of 12. After her six-month probation, Ms Lim continued to look to Mr Chia for career advice and guidance.

"The best advice that my mentor has given me is to follow my passion and plan for it!"
- Ms Lim Leng Shan, Senior Staff Nurse, CTICU, National Heart Centre Singapore

Ms Lim has learned a lot from Mr Chia and continues to look to him for career advice even after her six-month probation.
Photo: Alvinn Lim

Sharing their experience

How does mentorship work?

Mr Chia: During her probation, I taught her the ropes and assessed the competency of her skills. After that, my role became more of a facilitator, to provide guidance on career development, give emotional support, and serve as a good role model.

She is very inquisitive and always has questions about work. Rather than always giving her the answers, I sometimes turn the questions around to encourage her to think and come up with her own solutions.

Ms Lim: It’s sometimes not possible to ask questions at a patient’s bedside. So, I jot down them down in a notebook and ask him later at the end of our shift or when we have time to catch up. He’s helped me become more independent and to think on my feet. It’s amazing how he’s always so patient, approachable and generous in shar ing his knowledge.

What was your most memorable work experience with your mentor?

Ms Lim: During my first month at work, I was taking care of a critically ill patient on advanced life support who needed frequent resuscitation. I didn’t have much experience doing this, and was anxious when the patient’s condition turned worse.

Mr Chia noticed my fear and calmed me down with encouraging words, while at the same time taking instructions from the doctors. It was a high stress situation but he was calm and composed, and resuscitated the patient. He could have chided me for being anxious but instead, he later told me that he appreciated my ef for ts. That was a huge morale booster.

Mr Chia also patiently answered quite a few questions I had after the situation was resolved.

What’s the hardest thing to teach a mentee?

Mr Chia: It can be hard inculcating a good and positive attitude in a mentee. It’s a personal choice whether someone is “just doing a job” or “proud to be a nurse”. You can teach them the A to Zs of nursing, but without a positive and receptive attitude, something will be missing.

What’s the best advice your mentor has given you?

Ms Lim: The best advice that my mentor has given me is to follow my passion and plan for it! Mr Chia knows I’m interested in becoming a nurse educator and he’s been encouraging me to work towards this goal. I also learnt from him that there’re bound to be good and bad days at work. However, I should just focus on doing my best and have some work-life balance in my days. In these ways, I can stay happy on the job every day.

Click Here to read more inspiring stories about nurses from the Singapore Health Special Edition on Nursing 2016