There is no cost for participating in the mentoring offered through this site.

The purpose of the ONC Project is to develop mentorship opportunities beyond the usual face to face meetings. Mentorship will take place mostly on-line, through the exchange of messages between mentors and mentees via this website. There will be some opportunities for small group face to face mentorship. Watch the announcements for details!

There is no one right answer for this.  In most relationships the time spent will vary over the course of the relationship.  Addressing expectations related to time, and to availability, during the development of a mentoring agreement will reduce the risk of misunderstandings on this issue between the mentor and the mentee. 

For the purposes of this site your mentor will be ‘like you’ in that he/she is a nurse.  Beyond that, being alike is not necessary to a successful relationship.

No you do not.  Your immediate supervisor may not be a good choice as a mentor, given the formal expectations that he/she will have around performance management, but that does not mean that others in the organization or on the unit may not be a good choice.

Mentees often find it helpful to keep a diary or log of their work in the mentoring relationship.  This really becomes a learning journal that may be useful both during and after the relationship. Beyond that, you may be asked to submit an evaluation of this program so that we may improve the quality of the ONC Mentorship Project over time.

Some discomfort is normal in any new, and at times intense, relationship. If this feeling persists, you will need to revisit the relationship to determine what actions or behaviours you are uncomfortable with.     
       
Trust is a critical part of mentoring and it takes time to grow. If, as the relationship develops, you believe your discomfort arises because you do not trust the mentor then you need to develop an action plan to resolve that problem, which may include ending the relationship.
        
If you are uncomfortable with the feedback you are receiving, as opposed to being uncomfortable with the mentor, then you need to consider your readiness to participate in this type of relationship.

If you are unsure about the message you are receiving, you always have the option of requesting help from the ONC website administrator to sort that out.

The outcome of that type of situation will depend on what the issue that went wrong involved. For example, if you made a medication error and didn’t report it because there was no consequence to the patient, your mentor will want to work with you around the concepts of accountability, safety and risk management.  If you disclosed that you were involved inappropriately in a personal relationship with a patient or that you had committed a crime such as theft, your mentor would have to meet his/her obligations as defined in the Standards of Practice of the College of Nurses of Ontario.

Mentors are not in a position to be therapists or to provide medical or psychological treatment.  The role of a mentor in such situations is to advise the mentee about appropriate sources for help and treatment.

It is your right to end the relationship.  With this right comes a set of responsibilities. Module 3 deals with in more detail with ending the relationship.