More than vision: imagination as an elemental characteristic of being a nurse leader-mentor.
Mentoring relationships are dynamic alliances that can be used as a supportive mechanism for growing nurse leaders and promoting the future of the nursing profession. This article explores imagination as one of the central meanings of being a mentor for nursing leadership. Findings from a hermeneutic-phenomenological study concerned with Australian nurse leaders' experiences and understandings of mentorship for leadership revealed that imagination was a key characteristic of being a nurse leader-mentor. Imagination that moved beyond fantasy to closely connect with reason was essential for nurse leader-mentors to recognize and activate the myriad possibilities available to mentees and the nursing profession more broadly.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Health and Science, University of Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. andrea.mccloughen@sydney.edu.au
Andrea
A
McCloughen
Louise
L
O'Brien
Debra
D
Jackson
D001315:Australia; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008611:Mentors; D009729:Nursing; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing