Mentorship in Iran's perioperative nursing training: a systematic scoping review and evidence appraisal based on the standards of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses.

backgroundMentorship has been extensively investigated in perioperative literature across diverse international contexts; however, it remains a relatively underexplored and emerging concept within perioperative nursing in Iran. Therefore, this systematic scoping review was undertaken to synthesize and critically appraise the existing literature on mentorship within perioperative nursing training in Iran, with a particular focus on students enrolled in Operating Room (OR) programs, to identify existing knowledge gaps and to set directions for future research.

methodsAn electronic search was conducted across four international databases and five Iranian data sources. Studies published or ongoing up to January 31, 2026, in any language, were considered eligible if they focused on mentorship for students undergoing perioperative care training within Iran-specific programs in OR, anesthesia, or nursing. The revised evidence appraisal model from the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses (AORN) was applied to evaluate the level and quality of the evidence. Data were synthesized and reported following established scoping review guidelines.

resultsSeven distinct studies, reported across eight publications, were included, with a median publication year of 2021.5 (range: 2016–2025). According to AORN evidence-level standards, five randomized controlled trials were classified as Level I (high quality) and two non-randomized controlled studies as Level II (good quality), resulting in an overall high level of evidence. Most studies involved OR students, and mentorship predominantly delivered via peer-mentoring models. Ten key themes related to the impact of mentorship were identified, mapping a range of educational and psychosocial outcomes for undergraduate students. Mentorship approaches were most frequently assessed in relation to perioperative competence and clinical stress (frequency effect sizes: 23.07% and 15.38%, respectively), although improvements were not consistently observed across all studies compared with conventional faculty-led models. Outcomes such as anxiety, depression, and overall clinical performance, which were less frequently evaluated (frequency effect size: 7.69%), generally showed no clear advantage over conventional approaches. In addition to the included published studies, eight ongoing or recently completed but unpublished studies were identified, addressing a range of mentorship-related topics and study designs.

conclusionThis scoping review highlights a growing body of research on mentorship in Iranian perioperative nursing education, predominantly within OR programs. The mapped evidence outlines key themes, methodological diversity, and gaps in study populations and outcomes. Findings suggest potential benefits of mentorship in specific domains, supporting its context-specific integration in line with AORN guidelines, with careful consideration of potential benefits and challenges.