Sharing with the land of the dancing lights

Abstract

In this article, the authors discuss some of their experiences with an innovative project that involved a group of faculty engaged in a collegial model of mentorship through the use of distance technology. In 2001, Aurora College in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, entered into contract with the Collaborative Nursing Program (CNP) in British Columbia to develop a four-year BSN program. The contract included a curriculum development and faculty mentoring package for each year of the new program. In preparation for implementing the first year of the new curriculum, a mentoring partnership was set up involving the Aurora faculty who would be teaching the first three faculty members from the CNP sites at North Island College in Courtenay, University College of the Cariboo in Kamloops and Selkirk College in Castlegar. Aside from the initial two-day face-to-face workshop in Yellowknife and the occasional meeting of individuals at nursing conferences, mentoring took place across the miles, via teleconferencing and e-mail. At the end of the one-year project, all participants felt energized and enriched by the experience.