Abstract
MNRS Annual Conference Provides Great Opportunities to Mentor Emerging Scholars
As a doctoral student, attending the MNRS meeting as well as presenting and connecting with faculty and other students was always a great experience. As a mentor for emerging scholars, I always encourage students to attend. In our distance learning program for PhD students, we require students to attend the MNRS conference their first year. They find value in the MNRS experience, and almost always go back in later years. I asked various faculty and students for feedback about this experience and their perceptions of the conference and how faculty can advise and mentor students through the MNRS conference. Here are some of my thoughts and ideas as well as theirs.
Provide suggestions for how to navigate the meeting and decide what to attend, especially first-time attendees—there is a lot going on
Let them know there is an orientation for new attendees and students
Give assignments to attend sessions on certain topics and prepare to discuss them in class at the meeting or later—allows application to course topics
Explore preconferences that might help them with their dissertation work or expand their knowledge. For 2018, the topics will be: Moving from your doctoral degree to the real world, Structural equation modeling, Data science overview, Implementation science, Clinical research in acute and critical care, and Toolbox for environmental and occupational exposure data.
Discuss different aspects of studies from abstracts or presentations
Find the student poster sessions for their level and encourage them to visit those
Attend sessions with students—they learn from watching faculty interact with each other and other researchers
Present your work—students learn from faculty modeling dissemination of their work
Mentor students to present—write successful abstracts, prepare posters or presentations, and attend sessions for moral support
Introduce students to experts in their area, and encourage them to introduce themselves, if they run into someone they would like to talk to
Encourage students to socialize with faculty and other students
Tell them to look for special sessions, such as the Emerging Scholars lunch usually held at the meeting—typically they must sign up for this in advance
Have them visit the exhibit hall—a variety of schools and vendors have information that might be of interest
Let them know there may be receptions offered by schools that offer dessert or other goodies
Encourage students to get involved with the Emerging Scholars Network—this helps them get to know students from other schools and begin networking with others in their area.
It was suggested that MNRS also could consider offering some formal mentoring experiences at the conference such as matching students with experts or Research and Interest Group (RIG) members in like areas, or plan meetings with mentors. Other conferences have explored options for enhancing mentoring opportunities through their meetings that might provide some ideas.
The MNRS annual conference helps socialize students to nursing science, and faculty can mentor students so that they get the best experience possible. We hope to see you at the 2018 meeting, The Future of Nursing Research: Economic Realities and Creative Solutions, in Cleveland, Ohio, April 12-15.