Pre-registration education programmes provide nursing students with the skills and knowledge to become safe and proficient practitioners. Assessment of students’ competence is a fundamental part of these programmes and mentors play a crucial role. Mentors are registered nurses who have completed an appropriate mentorship programme in an approved higher education institution, and their main role includes teaching, supervising and assessing students’ clinical competence. The role can be demanding and stressful, and mentors must maintain their workloads while supporting students.

This article reports the results of the qualitative findings of a survey of mentorship practices (Brown et al 2012). The findings suggest that mentors value support from link lecturers and practice education facilitators, especially when they experience difficulties with nursing students who do not have the required competencies to pass their placement.