Introduction in mentoring in leadership

Abstract

Global reports have claimed that nurses are not visible as leaders and have called for stronger leadership and positioning of nurses in all arenas of healthcare [1-4]. Although nurses were praised for their strong resourcefulness and contribution to healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, some claimed that nurse leaders were not visible in Scientific Advisory Groups for Emergencies advising governments across countries. At the moment, the world is confronted with a growing shortage of nurses, which is expected to expand to a global shortage of 13 million nurses by the year 2030 [1]. Hence, mentoring and leadership development opportunities are called for to build quality work environments and as a solution to bring health and well-being to an exhausted and stretched nursing workforce [1, 2, 4]. Today more than ever the global healthcare community needs strong leaders to lead nursing into the future. The Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity (2022) written by the National Academy of Medicine and the Committee on the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 address the significant role that nurses take in the future of healthcare, its success, and quality healthcare delivery [5]. The nursing profession, however, needs supportive measures through robust education, supportive and collaborative work environments, and autonomy, complimented with formalized mentoring of nurses at all levels of health care [5]. Mentoring is the investment of the future not only for nurses individually but also for the whole nursing workforce in today's healthcare.