Here Is How You Can Support Nursing Students Through Mentorship

Preceptors bridge classroom learning with real-world practice, accelerating skill development and building student confidence in clinical settings. Precepting is one of the most impactful ways to mentor students and strengthen the nursing profession – imparting your knowledge to students helps to build confidence, develop skills and build community, all of which lead to better patient care and health outcomes.

Here’s what two of our current preceptors have to say:

“You get a front-row seat to someone’s transformation into a confident, compassionate clinician. There’s a quiet pride in knowing that your guidance, your stories, your way of showing up for patients becomes part of their professional DNA. And in teaching them, you’re reminded of your own “why”—the moments that shaped you, the mentors who poured into you, and the privilege of caring for patients with both skill and heart. Precepting becomes more than supervision; it’s a legacy.” -Tony Martinez, MD, AAHIVS, FAASLD, Medical Director, Center for Hepatology Care (“La Bodega”), Erie County Medical Center

“I enjoy individual and group teaching in the clinical setting while involving the patient and/or family in planning of care. This practice works in achieving goals for both the NP students as well as the preceptor and patients …I highly encourage any NP to precept." -Nancy Arbiter, MSN, ANP-BS, HEC-C

Learn more about precepting our DNP students.

Nurses from underrepresented backgrounds can have a powerful impact on students with shared lived experiences by serving as mentors through our Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee. It is crucial for students to be paired with mentors who directly understand the difficulties of navigating discrimination at both the institutional and individual levels, so they can receive support and feel a sense of belonging in the profession. For underrepresented students, these mentoring relationships can often make the difference between thriving as a nurse or leaving the field.

Sophia Overton, MSEd, RN, clinical instructor and JEDI mentorship program lead, explains that the program provides students with support “… based on their concerns, needs and interests. Some topics include self-care strategies, how to manage microaggressions, prejudices in the workplace, etc. The overarching goal is to help the mentees develop skills, confidence for their personal and career success.”

Tineka Pace, BS ’02 and Utilization Review Manager for AmTrust Financial Services, says she joined the program because "It was important to share my knowledge and experience with the next generation of nurses, especially those from underrepresented groups."

Before graduating, Pace’s mentee, Lilian Igwe, BS ‘24, shared her appreciation for Pace’s guidance and expertise as she embarked upon her nursing career: “Tineka is always connecting me with resources. I even won a scholarship she encouraged me to apply for. She checks in on me often to make sure I am staying on track.”

Contact our JEDI Committee to become a mentor. 

UB School of Nursing alumni will always be UB Nurses. If you want to provide career advice to future and advancing nurses at your alma mater, UB makes the process simple through Connect-a-Bull, an online engagement platform that functions similarly to LinkedIn.

Launched in 2024, the platform has approximately 76 active School of Nursing alumni mentors and 107 students as of Fall 2025. The platform helps students build enduring relationships with experienced nurses and expand their professional networks. It also offers numerous professional development resources, including tips for networking, resume writing and interviewing.

Create a profile on Connect-a-Bull and start mentoring nursing students.

Mentorship extends beyond volunteering your time. One of the best ways to help UB nursing students succeed is through philanthropic support of the School of Nursing’s student-focused funds. Gifts from alumni and friends are often the deciding factor that allows students to begin their program or remain enrolled, complete their degrees and achieve their dreams of becoming a nurse.

While there are many ways to support our nursing students, contributions to the UB Fund provide immediate support where it’s needed most. One hundred percent of gifts enhance the student experience, including emergency assistance, research opportunities, community service activities and global health experiences.

Lola Akintayo, a student in our traditional bachelor’s program, explained the transformative impact of receiving an Ennis Scholarship—a fund created by SON distinguished alumna, Kimberley Ennis, MS ’07, BS ’05 and Vice President of Nursing and Patient Care Services at NYU Langone Orthopedic Hospital: “With this scholarship, I will be able to reduce the amount of loans I take out, and I can cover the remaining balance of my bill for the semester. This is meaningful to me as it takes the financial burden off the shoulders of my family and me. This allows me to fully focus and excel in school while being the best student I can be.“

Your generosity helps ensure that future nurses have the resources they need to learn, lead and serve.

Make a gift to help UB School of Nursing students thrive.

By Shannon O'Sullivan, UB SON Assistant Director of Communications and Alumni Engagement