The Sydney Local Health District Near to Peer Mentoring Program was based on a program developed by the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District Education and Training Service (2022).
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Near to Peer Mentoring Program
The Near to Peer Mentoring Program gives new graduate nurses, midwives and allied health professionals the support and confidence they need to transition to first year clinical practice.
The program promotes professional development and wellbeing through regular mentoring sessions. Participants are entitled to receive six mentoring sessions (approximately 1 hour per session) throughout the 12-month program.
Who are the Mentors?
You will be mentored by a clinician who has recently completed their first post-graduate year. Clinicians with some of the most valuable knowledge, experiences and insights to share are those who have most recently been a new graduate themselves. It can be difficult for clinicians with decades of experience to remember what it is like to be completely new in a profession.
How to apply
Are you a new graduate (mentee) or second year clinician (mentor) interested in participating in the Sydney Local Health District Near to Peer Mentoring Program? We want to hear from you.
Expression of interest form
Becoming a Mentor
All clinicians nearing the end of their first post-graduate year will receive information about becoming a future mentor. Mentors must complete a one day training workshop before they are allocated a mentee.
By the end of the workshop, mentors will be able to:
- Understand the processes for mentoring within the Near to Peer Mentoring Program
- Apply basic principles of mentoring to their ongoing mentoring relationships
- Establish and maintain psychological safety within the mentoring relationship
- Manage a mentoring conversation with a mentee
- Recognise mentees that may require additional support and refer on to other services
- Recognise when additional support and development is required, and how to access these services.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mentoring is when a more experienced person shares their knowledge and experiences with a less experienced person in order to provide support and facilitate growth.
Both mentoring and coaching foster the development of others through reflection. Mentors may also use coaching microskills within mentoring conversations. There are some fundamental differences between mentoring and coaching:
| Coaching | Mentoring |
| Not an expert in the area | More experiences than the mentee |
| Asks questions to support growth | Provides advice/guidance based on experiences |
| Supports self-discovery | Guides learning |
| Focusses on coachee | Shares own journey |
Mentoring benefits both the mentee and mentor.
Reported benefits for mentees:
- Increased confidence
- Increased feeling of support and encouragement
- Development of broader perspective on workplace situations
- Gained insight into healthcare culture and ways of operation
Reported benefits for mentors include:
- Increased job satisfaction
- Increased confidence in a leadership role
- Professional and personal development
- Career growth
Yes, confidentiality is a core responsibility for both the mentor and the mentee and will be discussed during your first session.
The matching of mentors to mentees is not an exact science. Both mentors and mentees complete a brief online form that collects information to aid in the matching process.
Each new graduate clinician participating in the Near to Peer Mentoring Program is supported to attend six mentoring sessions over the course of their new graduate year. The frequency of these sessions may vary depending on the needs of the new graduate.