E-mentoring is an innovative form of mentoring that uses the Internet as the primary communication vehicle. This form of mentoring expands access, minimizes time restrictions, and eliminates geographical boundaries. Since there was a significant gap in the nursing literature about e-mentoring as a contemporary type of mentoring, this quantitative, descriptive study explored nurses' attitudes toward e-mentoring and the identification of facilitators and constraints to e-mentoring in nursing. Ajzen et al.'s integration of the Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior provided the theoretical basis for this study.

Data were collected from a convenience sample of 139 RNs. The participants were employed in 26 states across the United States. More than half of the participants were employed as nurse educators and had graduate degrees. This exceeded the national percentage of RNs who are employed in education and the national percentage for highest level of education completed for RNs.

The study's findings provided empirical evidence that nurses have positive attitudes toward e-mentoring, scored high on facilitators that support e-mentoring, and low on constraints that block e-mentoring in nursing. Facilitators included a high-speed Internet connection and computer access at work and home. Constraints included the lack of non-verbal cues with Internet communication. The study's findings revealed that nurses with previous mentoring experience had more positive attitudes toward e-mentoring than nurses without previous mentoring experience. For nurses with ementoring experience, the higher they rated this experience the more positive their attitudes toward e-mentoring.

Nurses who were likely to engage in e-mentoring identified more facilitators and fewer constraints than nurses who were indecisive or not likely to engage in e-mentoring. However, even though nurses identified constraints to e-mentoring, they had positive attitudes toward e-mentoring, which suggested that constraints may not block nurses from engaging in e-mentoring.

E-mentoring may increase nurses' access to mentors beyond geographic boundaries and time limitations, while providing a generational adaptation for mentoring younger nurses and accessing older nurses for mentors. Organizations contemplating ementoring should encourage nurses with previous mentoring experience to participate in e-mentoring. E-mentoring is a viable approach that may facilitate a shift from traditional nurse mentoring toward e-mentoring.