David Huggins describes a project intended to enhance students’ learning experience while reducing the ‘burden’ of mentoring

To address some of the recommendations of the Willis Commission (Royal College of Nursing 2012), and in response to local evaluation of mentor and nursing student experiences, the University of East Anglia has implemented a project to teach mentors coaching skills. The aim is to enhance mentor support of nursing students during practice placements and improve student learning in practice. This article describes the project and discusses the similarities and differences between mentoring and coaching. It shows how coaching has reduced the ‘burden’ of mentoring by reducing mentors’ workloads, and has helped students to take responsibility for identifying learning needs and delivering supervised patient care.