Mentoring and Hildegard Peplau’s Theory of Interpersonal relationship

Defining the Problem

One of the common challenges facing nursing education in the current century is the

inadequate preparation of nursing students to serve in a complex healthcare environment and

ensuring they are fit to work in those environments. Mentoring is an innovative tool supporting

learning for nursing students and nursing staff Trigueros et al. (2019). Mentoring is the process

of assessing, supervising, guiding, and counseling. It can also imply creating a relationship

between a more experienced (mentor) and a less experienced nurse (a mentee) (Foolchand &

Maritz, 2020). According to Hagerty et al. (2017), the theory of interpersonal relationships by

Hildegard Peplau fits well in the mentoring process. It entails the creation of a therapeutic

interpersonal relationship between a more specialized and less experienced nurse. The theorist

theorized that the relationship must only be successful if it passes through three phases:

orientation and identification, working, and termination. Peplau’s theory guides a nursing

profession and its Practice by describing, explaining, and setting a foundation for everything

nursing encompasses. Therefore, the interpersonal theory can demonstrate a mentor’s extensive

contribution to the new nurses in the clinical area.

Theory Analysis

Description of the interpersonal relationship theory

The theory of interpersonal relationship by Hildegard Peplau is a middle-range theory

that was built on Sullivan’s work of Interpersonal Theory of Psychiatry (McEwen& Wills,

2019). Based on Sullivan’s concept of anxiety, Peplau develops four levels of anxiety. These

levels include mild, moderate, severe, and panic levels that are a standard framework that nurses

currently use to assess patient anxiety. Peplau believed that the nurse’s role is to help the client