Experiences of nursing students in A peer mentoring program during their clinical practices. A qualitative study

Background: Clinical placements allow nursing students to develop the skills and attitudes necessary to provide care. Peer mentoring programmes seem to facilitate these achievements, but there are very few studies on the effects of peer mentoring on clinical placements and what it can bring to both mentors and mentees. Aim: To describe the perspectives of nursing students on a peer mentoring programme during their clinical placements. Design: A qualitative descriptive and exploratory study. Settings and participants: First year and third year nursing students were included. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with students after they participated in a peer mentoring programme during their clinical practice rotation. Results: The support received from the student mentors was very important both academically and personally. Mentors also acknowledged having improved their teaching and leadership skills. Conclusions: Our results can be applied to future studies to inform peer mentoring programmes as a complementary teaching tool in clinical placements to improve leadership and empowerment in nursing students.