In The Field: Nurse Melissa believed that mentorship is invaluable throughout a nurse's career.
Melissa Sherman, BSN, RN, Holistic Transformational Life Coach, and End-of-Life Care Specialist, believes strongly in mentorship and has established a mentorship program that benefits both the mentor and the mentee.
Q: TRUE or FALSE: “Nurses eat their young?”
A: False! There has been such a positive change within the nursing field since I started my nursing career in 2003. I was lucky enough to have a couple of seasoned nurses protect me and take me under their wings when I started out, but back then I do feel there was still some of the "nurses eat their young" culture going around.
Fortunately, I feel the focus has shifted through an increased value placed on mentorship and even turned more towards experienced nurses really nurturing their young and actively participating in supporting, educating, celebrating, welcoming, and appreciating new nurses which is a wonderful change! I am a HUGE believer in mentorship as I have been fortunate enough to have several incredible nurse mentors these past 20 years.
Now, I really advocate for mentorship anywhere I can and have been an active mentor for ANA and Sigma for a few years ~ it's incredibly rewarding! I even started the Mentorship Group here on Nurse Deck and am actively working to establish an active mentorship program that will add value to both the mentor and mentee. I am grateful for all of the support I am receiving as I try to make the Nurse Deck Mentorship Program thrive and succeed!
Melissa Sherman
BSN, RN, Holistic Transformational Life Coach, and End-of-Life Care Specialist
Q: What is your specialty and where are you based?
A: I am in NJ and have been a nurse for almost 20 years now and have varied clinical experience in Pediatrics, Home Care, Inpatient Eating Disorders, Oncology, Med Surg, Ambulatory Care, School Nursing, and Case Management.
That is the beauty of the nursing field...it can give you so many options to explore your interests and develop and evolve your skills in such a way that it never gets old or boring! I have recently become certified as a Holistic Transformation Life Coach with the goal of working with fellow nurses going through personal or professional transitions or who are at a crossroads in their careers due to burnout.
I like to walk beside my clients as they navigate their new path through unchartered waters and transform their lives and reach their goals. I am also certified as an End-of-Life Care Specialist and work with dying clients and their loved ones to help make their transition as beautiful, sacred, and peaceful as possible.
I am a believer that each person should be able to die with dignity and have the opportunity to leave their unique legacy behind. I am truly grateful to have the privilege of being a nurse!
Q: What does cultural competence mean for healthcare providers?
A: Cultural Competence is such an important and integral part of being an effective healthcare provider. It allows you to establish trust and rapport with each individual and provide them with the best care possible that is given in a non-judgmental, inclusive, and supportive way.
It is such a gift to have the opportunity to work with patients/clients of different cultural backgrounds. As a healthcare provider, it is imperative you have an open mind and heart and treat each person with the dignity, humanity, and respect we all deserve as members of the human race.
Q: What is your experience with nurse unions?
A: I have been in a nurse union before when I was a school nurse and feel that overall it was an effective, organized built-in way of ensuring nurse advocacy and protecting nurse's rights. For me, it was worth the fees/dues to be a part of the union and I had an overall positive experience.
Q: Is there anything you'd like to talk about that we didn't include in our questions?
A: I am very grateful to be a part of Nurse Deck as it gives nurses the unique opportunity to be part of an inclusive, supportive, and fun networking group. There are so many different groups you can participate in and that gives each nurse an opportunity to access what they are most interested in and collaborate with others that are also passionate about similar things.
It is such a positive, enriching experience for me and I find it to be a wonderful resource filled with exciting, new information and topics I can really relate to. Nurse Deck is truly a wonderful way to establish connections, network, and share valuable insights among peers.
It encourages organic storytelling which I believe is a rich source of human (and nursing) connections, interactions, uplifting empowerment, and a way to support one another in a genuine way!