The development of academic identity in graduate nursing students: An interpretive descriptive study.

Background: Mentorship is an important element in the development of academic identity among graduate students in nursing. Although most often occurring within the context of faculty advisor-student relationships, mentorship should extend beyond formal advisor-advisee relationships. Peer mentorship is known to be beneficial for graduate students, yet little is known about how peer mentorship specifically impacts the development of academic identity.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore how peer mentorship, within the context of an international research conference, impacts the development of academic identity.

Design: Qualitative descriptive study. Graduate nursing students from a research-intensive university in Canada were invited to participate in a peer mentorship initiative. Data were collected through reflective journals. Data analysis was conducted iteratively and collaboratively using an interpretive descriptive approach.

Participants: Eight mentees, two peer mentors and five faculty mentors participated in the initiative. With the exception of one faculty mentor, all participants provided reflective journals on their experiences, in response to journal prompts.

Results: Findings centered on five themes: walking through quicksand, navigating a complex academic world, developing academic identity through relationships, intentional cultivation of community, and finding solid ground. Our findings highlight the relational nature of academic identity development, and the significant benefit of providing mentorship to graduate nursing students outside of formal learning spaces.

Conclusions: Given the urgent need to increase the numbers of nurses with advanced research training, it is important that effective strategies like this innovative mentorship initiative, that enhance professional identity development, are integrated into graduate education programs.