Rural Remote Health
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Rural Remote Health · Jan 2020
Establishing a mentorship program in rural workplaces: connection, communication, and support required.
Recruitment and retention of healthcare providers to rural workplaces is often challenging due to many factors, such as complex work environments requiring a broad skill set, minimal staffing, and limited community support and resources. Mentorship has been proposed as a strategy to encourage recruitment and retention of staff in rural workplaces. This article describes a rural-specific pilot mentorship program that was implemented and evaluated in terms of supporting rural mentorships, easing workplace transition, strengthening community connections, and encouraging recruitment and retention in rural communities. ⋯ Participants in this study believed that mentorship was beneficial to support healthcare providers working in rural environments. However, greater strides need to be made in terms of creating and supporting such relationships. The responsibility for mentorship resides with not only the mentor and mentee but also health organizations and rural communities. Members from all groups need to be committed and contribute to mentorship for rural mentorship programs to be successful and sustainable. Rural residents are often underserved due to insufficient numbers of healthcare professionals working in rural areas along with a limited number of services offered. The greater the numbers of healthcare professionals that can be recruited and retained within rural communities, the greater the likelihood the community residents will have timely and appropriate access to quality health services. These services can result in positive patient outcomes and greater community health.