Abstract:
Reciprocal mentoring is a relationship concept that harnesses the power of mentoring into a mutually beneficial relationship in which participants take turn learning from each other. Nursing students enrolled in a gerontology course participated in a reciprocal mentoring assignment instead of a traditional clinical placement. This was a pilot study using a qualitative design. 15 students were paired with 15 older adults to learn about the process of aging from each other. Three themes emerged after data analysis namely, competency in assessment skills, increased knowledge of aging and more positive outlook of aging.