Evaluation questionnaires are essential in both the pre and post activities of the workshop. This is to ensure that expectations and goals are clearly defined and stated, as well addressing concerns of the participants. The evaluation questionnaires must be able to determine individual responses on the workshop settings, availability and effectiveness of workshop facilitators, opportunities to enhance skills and gain knowledge, and innovation used to provide pragmatic approaches to information and learning.
Questionnaires will be designed to help facilitate management competency tools, and questions are drafted in both open and closed response options. Evaluation questionnaires would be posted or given to the participants enrolled in the mentoring program one week before the pre workshop, and a minimum of 3 months after the post workshop activities. Pre workshop assessment is aimed to determine the expectations of participants by asking them of their perception, knowledge, and attitudes towards the mentoring program, and ask how the mentor can meet the mentee’s needs.
On the other hand, post workshop questionnaires are designed to evaluate the impact of the activities and whether their expectations were met. For the most part, both pre and post workshop questionnaires is designed to be identical, to elicit any changes in professional or workplace issues since attending the workshop. It is also important in the post workshop questionnaire to ask for details about the mentoring partnership, and the reasons why a relationship between mentor and mentee progressed successfully or not. This must be analyzed qualitatively, and taken in context of personal and professional experiences.
Details of the questionnaires includes, sending and returning questionnaires from their own offices to an independent research group, explanation of the evaluation process included in the questionnaire, and non-requirement of names (socio-demographic characteristics of respondents will be matched to determine the pairing). It is also important in the process to include in-depth interviews (structured or semi-structured), and focus group discussions to evaluate the mentoring program. This can be done through face-to face interviews, or if due to some circumstances, telephone interviews may be conducted.
Conclusion The mentoring program has a potential to build extensive relationships between mentors and mentees, to provide individual growth and development. It is important that evaluation procedures outline goals and expectations for the relationship to progress into the future. Aside from the mentor and mentee, nurse educators, supervisors, and management staff can assist during workshops and help build relationships among participants. The planning stage is crucial in determining what approach is to be used, and also what activities will generate beneficial results.
At the implementation stage, the mentoring program must gradually shift its activities towards progression of knowledge, skill-building, and relationship strengthening. Monitoring should govern all practices employed in the process which allows documentation and shall allow for further improvement on the process. The evaluation phase is also an essential element during this process as it governs the longitudinal relationship together with direct observation, of skills and intervention, charting and data collection, and interpersonal relationships assessment.