PVCC’s Nursing Peer Mentorship
Charles Stish, staff writer
Among the various degree programs available at PVCC, nursing is considered one of the most rigorous with 67 credits minimum for an Associate of Applied Science in Nursing degree. To fulfill the requirements of the degree program, nursing students are expected to take general college courses, courses specific to the nursing program, and science courses that will help them in both the mental and physical sides of nursing. These courses include human anatomy, microbiology, pharmacology, and even sociology.
Since the nursing program is almost completely separate from other degree programs, first-year nursing students who are new to the program can feel lost or intimidated by the workload and expectations. To help these first-year nursing students become comfortable and less intimidated, the Student Nurse Association at PVCC (SNAP) has branched out to create a peer mentorship program where second-year nursing students give advice and help their new comrades through their first year.
“We started in the fall of 2016 and it came about because there was several of us who asked second year students for information and advice. We decided we wanted to create a more formal way of doing that,” said Kelly Hardie, a SNAP officer in charge of student activities and community outreach. Hardie is also a second-year nursing student and the peer mentorship coordinator, meaning she helps set group meetings and coordinates one-on-one sessions between second-year and first-year nursing students.
The advice and assistance the peer mentors give include: test taking strategies, how to balance school workload with personal life, and help make new students feel more comfortable in their program.
The peer mentors do not discuss course work in detail, but offer assistance and a safe place for new nursing students to feel comfortable in. Especially since the peer mentors will not let anything said to them by the student go outside of their meeting. “One of the main things is confidentiality, so what students says never goes past the peer mentor. It’s supposed to be a safe environment,” said Hardie.
She said, “In the first year of nursing you learn so much, so much is being thrown at you and it’s nice to have a peer’s perspective. The peer mentorship doesn’t only help provide information, but what to expect as a first year nursing student. It helps to normalize the experience.”
The peer mentors have group meetings on Mondays from 12-1 p.m. in the Keats Science Building in room K114 and in Library Study Room E from 7-8 p.m. on Thursdays.
For information on the peer mentorship, contact Kelly Hardie at her school email: keh233@email.vccs.edu.
