A critical examination of formal and informal mentoring among nurses.

This article focuses on how mentoring among nurses can help them to better serve their profession and health care organizations to more successfully achieve their goals. Specifically, it addresses how formal and informal mentoring can yield benefits to both the nursing profession and health care organizations. It presents some advantages and disadvantages of formal and informal mentoring. Finally, it delineates some important considerations that should be carefully analyzed before establishing a formal program.