MENTORING

THE LEARNING PLAN The mentor aims to help the practitioner to consider the range of learning opportunities available and from this a learning plan is constructed. It is an agreed plan of action ie. how the mentor and the practitioner think that the stated learning outcomes can be achieved and demonstrated. The practitioner is encouraged to complete tasks to the best of their ability in terms of depth of thinking and understanding.

Documenting learning There are many ways of producing evidence to demonstrate that learning has taken place. Means of producing evidence of learning are very varied and could include any or all of the following: ■ Critical incident reports ■ Reflective diaries ■ SWOT analyses ■ Service/tour reports ■ Literature reviews ■ Case studies ■ Questionnaires/survey results and analysis ■ Feedback from service users ■ Appraisals ■ Testimonials from athletes.

A range of evidence is normally presented, so expect to produce a folder containing items that demonstrate learning and that con- tribute to your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) port- folio. As the majority of learning takes place within the relation- ship built between the mentor and the practitioner some evidence

could also come from records of discussions that have been held. This information is however confidential and may only be includ- ed if both parties give permission.

At the completion of the learning contract, the mentor should be convinced that the practitioner has developed his/her profession- al knowledge and should be comfortable that there is enough evi- dence to support this. Hopefully, you will both have enjoyed the process and will have learned a great deal.

SUMMARY Mentoring is just one method of achieving learning and profes- sional development but it supports many of the ideals of post- qualification education. Mentoring is an ideal technique to use to develop the skills of the critical and reflective practitioner, and this was demonstrated very well by the success of the BPA / UK Sport initiative. Mentoring is reasonably easy to undertake along- side clinical or sports practice, as it doesn’t necessarily require time away from work and so can fit comfortably in normal work- ing practice for many practitioners. Learning in conjunction with an experienced mentor provides invaluable insight into problem- solving and team working and can fast-track development for elite sports practice.

THE AUTHOR

Linda Mitchell is a chartered physiotherapist, a university lecturer, and a mentor in sport. She is currently the chief physiotherapist for the British Paralympic Association, and has also worked at World University and Commonwealth Games, and Olympic holding camps.

ence and medical team, as appropriate.

Results Contact time with the mentor through e-mail and phone amounted to approx- imately 15 hours per practitioner. In addition to this, attendance at the camps for 12 days each, over two vis- its, added approximately another eight hours of mentoring contact. Each prac- titioner was allowed open access to the GB support team members with con- trolled access to athletes and coaches. Supervision was as planned.

Each practitioner produced a portfolio of evidence that demon- strated learning. Portfolios consisted of a good range of items and included: ■ Reflective case studies demonstrating multi-disciplinary ■ considerations ■ Critical and significant incident reports ■ Evaluations of communication or team-work ■ Comparison of different approaches ■ Investigative studies of new aspects ■ Formal and informal feedback from colleagues and athletes ■ Service reports from line managers, or other MDT members ■ Outline progress summaries from the mentor.

www.sportex.net

Photo: Marianne Bayes, sports massage practi- tioner, tries out the portable hoist on a colleague at the Paralympic camp in Cyprus.

Summary Both practitioners achieved their indi- vidual learning objectives during the allocated time period and developed into confident, knowledgeable, highly skilled practitioners with the ability to use an inter-disciplinary problem-solv- ing approach to disability sport issues. As a consequence, each one is likely to

be invited to work as a member of a GB Paralympic team in the future. They found the learning experiences rewarding, relevant and hugely valuable. Skills developed included extension of prac- tical and theoretical knowledge but also attitudinal changes in the wider approach to management of athletes. UK Sport and the BPA recognised the success of this unique initiative and acknowledged the depth of learning that had taken place. Mentoring has facili- tated the fast-track development of effective practitioners at an elite, multi-sport event.

Acknowledgement: This initiative was instigated with advice from the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Sports Medicine (ACPSM) and the Sports Massage Association (SMA).

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