Forward thinking with reverse mentoring

I have seen a number of references to ‘reverse mentoring’ on social media this month and was curious to what it involves. In December 2018 a ‘Transforming Perceptions of Nursing’ campaign led by the NHS Horizons team launched a 30-day challenge to ‘mentor a junior colleague or student or reverse mentor a senior nurse or midwife’. A number of nurses across a range of sectors engaged through an ambassador programme, and from this work, devised ten top tips for mentoring and reverse mentoring.

In the workplace, mentorship typically describes a relationship whereby a more experienced colleague uses their knowledge and understanding to support a more junior or inexperienced member of staff. However, there may be a junior member of staff who has more knowledge or experience in certain aspects of work or and there is an opportunity for them to act as the mentor to the senior colleague; this is reverse mentorship.