Mentoring Program | That's a wrap!

The program content was designed to support participants through career pathways, professional development strategies, effective networking, techniques for managing burnout, maintaining resilience and skill-building for effective communication and conflict resolution in the workplace.

The 6-month program connected 30 mentees and mentors from across the country, with matches focused on leadership and career development rather than clinical competencies. 

We have just wrapped up the 2024 program and are evaluating feedback for improvements to enrich the opportunity even further. Thanks to the support of AstraZeneca, we are delighted to announce we will be running this Program again in 2026. Watch out for announcements next year around intake and applications. 

Hear what the participants had to say: 

It gave me the confidence to be a bit more assertive and put my ideas out there instead of taking the back seat with some things.

One of the big reasons why I joined this mentorship program was because I was in a role that wasn't for me. And I just didn't know what to do and where to go and how to get there. So it was really great having this beautiful angel on my shoulder saying, actually,  what can we do? How can we help?

I think the main thing that I've learned is the best way to progress is to ask questions. I've genuinely stopped and asked my mentor - how do you know this? And she's said 'I just asked, and I looked, and I didn't take no for an answer.' And now I'm looking at my job and my position in that same sense - how can I help? Let me look deeper. Let me do some more research. 

And the one thing I have loved from this as well has just been having a mentor that's in a different state. They don't know the hospitals I work at, they don't know my colleagues. And it's just a really nice, safe space to be - okay, this is what I've experienced. You have a completely external outlook. Tell me what you think. That's been the best part, I think. 

I lost a lot of confidence over the years of my career, particularly with knowledge and skills, even though they were there. And what the program and my mentor did was reignite those for me. And it's made me, again, passionate, confident, knowledgeable, and it's advanced my career. But it's also reminded me that you can do all that and be humble with your knowledge and your skills and your professional values.

It was just great just to talk to someone that knew the ins and outs of the healthcare system, in particular cancer nursing. And it was really good to be vulnerable and know that it was okay, and we can actually grow from that.

And because of her experience not only as a nurse, but a human on the planet who's mothering a few years ahead of me, who's nursing a few years ahead of me, she was able to decipher very quickly what it would be that could help me even just get through a day to someone that was new. And not only did she help me find the ladder, but she put me up the first few rungs. That's the mentor I needed. That's the mentor I aim to be. Because you're not just supporting this short time program, you're teaching someone how to teach themselves and find the correct information so they can be a lifelong learner.