The purpose of this essay is to reflect upon aspects of my professional practice and development that I have encountered during my time as a student mentor. This reflective essay shall be written in the first person, In accordance with the NMC (2002) Code Of Professional Conduct, Confidentiality shall be maintained and all names have been changed to protect identity. I have been teaching students and newly qualified theatre practitioners as a registered ODP for more than 10 years and as a SODP for one year. Working with different mentors in the past, has helped me to understand the different characteristics of being a mentor and develop my own style of facilitating learning within a clinical setting. I have experience of conveying knowledge to others in a way that is comprehensible and significant through my work as a multi-skilled theatre practitioner. Whilst ODPs have a separate code of professional standards, this essentially provides a similar outline to supervision and mentorship (HPC 2008). The concept of mentoring is also part of the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework whereby practitioners have to assist in the development of others through a variety of learning approaches and must demonstrate these through portfolio development (DH 2004).
In order to be an effective role model the mentor must have high standards, must be able to demonstrate these high standards consistently, and must have good attitudes and beliefs regarding the role of their relevant profession in the wider context of healthcare (Murray & Main 2005) As this assignment is a reflection of my performance in mentoring and assessing a mentee in nursing/theatre settings ,I have chose to use Gibbs Reflective Cycle as it is clear and precise, allowing for description, analysis and