Self-care and mentors to reduce stress and enhance administrative ability.

This article has considered two options available for nurses seeking career advancement in LTC. Orem's self-care model offers an approach to assist the DON to cope with stressors in the LTC setting through self-care. Mentoring also offers a strategy to assist the novice leader with professional growth. Mentoring is an emerging concept in nursing. Mentoring is of special significance in LTC because there is a shortage of DONs. Experienced DONs in LTC who have learned to handle the stresses that overwhelm the novice need to mentor younger DONs and others interested in a DON position. The use of both these strategies will increase the number of competent nurse administrators in long-term care.