PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

MENTORING - AN IDEAL LEARNING TOOL

By Linda Mitchell MSc, MCSP

NEW INITIATIVE Leading up to the Paralympic games in 2004, mentoring was used to successfully extend the skills and knowledge of one sports mas- sage practitioner and one chartered physio- therapist through work with elite disabled athletes in the Great Britain preparation camps. Elite athletes require a range of sup- port from many disciplines as they prepare for major games and the GB support team must collaborate to work effectively and effi- ciently to facilitate maximum performances for these athletes. A preparation camp is an unusual multi-sport and multi-discipline environment that can seem alien to the professional who is new to this situation. While a practitioner might have excellent clinical skills in the clinic setting, he/she can find it difficult to work in a pressured situation in the field setting.

To address this problem and to provide relevant learning opportunities for professionals who aspire to become GB team members in the future, the British Paralympic Association and UK Sport developed a new initiative which enabled two practitioners to gain super- vised work experience and a unique insight, while also being supported through mentoring (see key points of BPA/UK Sport inititative on page 18).

WHAT IS MENTORING? Mentoring is an educational process where a practitioner works closely, on a one-to-one basis, with an appropriately skilled mentor for a set period of time in order to address his/her particular learning needs. This article reviews how this can work in a sports setting. Contact does not always need to be face-to-face, as mentoring can be conducted very successfully using e-mail and the phone.

When considering mentoring, a practitioner should have an outline plan of how he/she wishes to develop in sport, with an idea of his/her specific learning needs. The mentor then works closely with the practitioner to examine these ideas to facilitate the development of sound clinical reasoning, self- evaluation, critical analysis and in-depth reflection of actions.

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Mentoring is an edu- cational tool that facilitates deep learning and personal devel- opment in an individual practitioner. It is an ideal learning tool that addresses the diverse needs of today’s busy practi- tioners. Mentoring links a practising profes- sional with an appropriate mentor to cre- ate a safe and supportive learning forum for the development of strong profes- sional skills. This article looks at how mentoring can work in a sports setting.

This promotes better practice, improved manage- ment of athletes and gives the practitioner con- fidence for involvement in sport. The rela- tionship between the practitioner and the mentor is unique and privileged, as it relies on honesty, trust, respect and pro- fessional integrity. The mentor takes the role of critical friend and therefore needs to possess understanding and pro- vide an insight into the situations that might arise.

There are several variations of mentoring but

the following techniques have been used suc- cessfully in the area of sport in the last few years.

OBSERVATIONAL OR WORK SHADOWING ‘Observational’ or ‘work shadowing’ opportunities enable a practitioner to observe elements of a fellow profession- al’s working environment. This involves a prac- titioner arranging to

observe or shadow a fellow professional going about their

work activities and could include observation of different skills, management techniques or applications. There is usually no formal men- toring contract formed with the observed professional, as it is better if someone else acts as the mentor so allowing critical debate of what has been seen and under- stood. This type of mentoring is likely to consist of contact with a mentor before the first visit to assist the professional to identify specific learning points for focus and after each visit to discuss what was learned. Evidence of learning taking place is usually produced after the observation period, in the form of a case analysis, a written report(s) and/or

personal reflections.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT Mentoring associated with ‘skill development’ provides an opportunity for a practitioner to develop a specific skill in the context of his/her particular practice in sport. This type

of mentoring is likely to follow attendance at a formally taught course/workshop where a new skill is acquired. Mentoring facili- tates the practitioner to explore, modify and evaluate their use of this new skill in his/her area of work/sport. Evidence of learn-