title: Mentorship in nursing academia: a systematic review protocol.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mentorship is perceived as vital to attracting, training, and retaining nursing faculty members and to maintaining high-quality education programs. While there is emerging evidence to support the value of mentorship in academic medicine, the extant state of the evidence for mentorship in nursing academia has not been established. We describe a protocol for a mixed-methods systematic review to critically appraise the evidence for mentorship in nursing academia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Studies examining the effectiveness of mentorship interventions with nursing faculty who teach in registered nursing education programs will be included. Mentee, mentor, and nursing education institutional outcomes will be explored. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method studies will be eligible for inclusion, without restrictions on publication status, year of publication, or language. We will search electronic databases (for example, MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC) and gray literature (for example, conference proceedings, key journals, relevant organizational websites) for relevant citations. Using pilot-tested screening and data extraction forms, two reviewers will independently review the studies in three steps: (1) abstract/title screening, (2) full-text screening of accepted studies, and (3) data extraction of accepted studies. Studies will be aggregated for meta-synthesis (qualitative) and meta-analysis (quantitative), should the data permit.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study is the first systematic review of existing global evidence for mentorship in nursing academia. It will help identify key evidence gaps and inform the development and implementation of mentorship interventions. The mentorship outcomes that result from this review could be used to guide the practice of mentorship to increase positive outcomes for nursing faculty and the students they teach and ultimately effect improvements for the patients they care for. This review will also identify key considerations for future research on mentorship in nursing academia and the enhancement of nursing science.
authors: Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. lnowell@ucalgary.ca.
authors: Lorelli
authors: L
authors: Nowell
authors: Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. dwhit@ucalgary.ca.
authors: Deborah E
authors: DE
authors: White
authors: Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, 3280 Hospital Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 4Z6, Canada. kmrklas@ucalgary.ca.
authors: Kelly
authors: K
authors: Mrklas
authors: Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. jmnorris@ucalgary.ca.
authors: Jill M
authors: JM
authors: Norris
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004506:Education, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008611:Mentors; D009729:Nursing; D012107:Research Design; D012579:Schools, Nursing; D000078202:Systematic Reviews as Topic