Mentoring Graduate Students to Become Effective Teaching Assistants: Developing and Implementing a Student-Centred Program for Nursing

Abstract

Teaching in the health professions, including nursing, requires specialized educational strategies that meet the needs of the current generation of learners. Currently there is a shortage of experienced post-secondary educators in nursing, possibly exacerbated by inadequate teaching assistant (TA) professional development programs. Most literature describes TA professional development programs that involve undergraduate students employed as TAs, and few consider how programs can mentor graduate students to develop their instructional skills, contribute to courses, and enhance their careers. There are limited reports in the Canadian context. In this article we outline the rationale, development, and implementation of a graduate teaching assistant (GTA) mentorship program for graduate students at a school of nursing located in Western Canada. Our aim is to provide mentorship and experience in educational strategies to graduate students, to help mentor and educate future nursing educators who are experienced post-secondary teachers. We discuss the rationale for offering the GTA mentorship program, followed by a description of the GTA mentorship program components. We highlight the role of the senior TA, an experienced GTA who takes a leadership role in coordinating the program. Importantly, we discuss how knowledge related to cultural safety is presented, and how it has been adapted over time to meet GTAs’ needs. Finally, we discuss the evolution of a school of nursing GTA mentorship program, located in Western Canada and we describe future changes to the program in order to remain relevant to the needs of graduate students in nursing, faculty and administration, and undergraduate nursing students.