Do Nurses Need Mentors?

This paper examines the influence of sex role socialization on the establishment and maintenance of mentoring relationships. Traditional conceptualizations of this process have evolved from male culture and experience; consequently, women have had less access than have men to this career advancement mechanism. Nurses, however, have developed a continuum of sponsorship activities that are more useful than traditional mentoring relationships in a practice‐oriented profession as well as more compatible with female socialization.