Mentorship as Infrastructure: What Mentorship Does for Mentors in Nursing

About this event

Black nursing students in Canada continue to navigate educational and clinical environments shaped by anti-Black racism, affecting belonging, retention and wellbeing. Although formal mentorship – particularly race-concordant mentorship – has been identified by RNAO as a critical strategy across education and practice, mentorship is most often framed as primarily beneficial for mentees. Far less attention has been given to how mentors themselves are shaped through these relationships and the implications for leadership and equity in nursing.

This presentation positions race-concordant mentorship as a form of relational infrastructure for advancing equity in nursing, with a specific focus on mentors’ experiences. Drawing on an institutionally implemented Black mentorship program within an undergraduate nursing program, the presentation explores how engaging in mentorship shapes mentors’ leadership development, advocacy practices and professional identity.

Based on survey responses and reflective accounts from Black nurse mentors participating in a six-month mentorship program, the session highlights mentorship as a reciprocal space of leadership development, identity affirmation and advocacy. The presentation calls for a shift in how mentorship is understood and operationalized within nursing, recognizing race-concordant mentorship as essential infrastructure for advancing anti-Black racism strategies and strengthening equity-focused leadership pathways in alignment with RNAO’s best practice guideline titled Addressing Anti-Black Racism in Nursing.

Presenter:

Safeyyah Raji, RN, MN-LPNP, CPMHN(C)