Exploring the experiences of legacy mentors, mentees and their managers; learning from Appreciative Inquiry

Background: Legacy mentors are experienced nurses, usually in their late career. There is little evidence exploring the impact of legacy mentors in practice. Aim: To understand the impact of the legacy mentor role on the legacy mentors themselves, their mentees and the mentees’ managers; and to provide recommendations to support future investment and development. Methods: The evaluation was conducted in accordance with the first stages ‘Design and Discover’ of the qualitative design ‘Appreciative Inquiry’. Six mentees, two managers, and four legacy mentors took part in three focus groups. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Three themes emerged from the data: characteristics and qualities, challenges associated with the role, and outcomes of the role. Conclusion: The legacy mentors’ interpersonal skills and experience enabled them to overcome barriers associated with implementing the role. Key attributes such as communication and listening skills, respect and empathy allowed the mentees to accept and welcome guidance. Other requirements for success included flexibility, clear and consistent communication about the role, and mutually agreed expectations about the outcomes, process and commitment required from managers, mentees, and mentors. More research is required to establish how this initiative could be reflected in future nursing policy and implemented more widely.