Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

NNSL (Sep 20/99) - Health Minister Floyd Roland has announced there will be three new nurse mentors for the Northwest Territories.

These nurses will be added to a slightly different mentorship program that already exists.

The nurse mentors Roland announced will likely oversee many newly graduated nurses, according to nursing consultant Marnie Bell.

Bell said a program already exists which is more one-on-one.

"It's a mechanism by which we help new Northern graduates from nursing programs gain experience in the work force so that enhances their employability in the long- term," she said.

"There are as many (mentors) as the need dictates."

Bell said mentors are matched with every new graduate who is interested in the experience.

"It depends on how many are interested, the number of applicants and also on the feasibility of employers to accommodate that.

"Sometimes, given their staffing levels, they might not be able to have as many new graduates introduced to the workforce as they might like."

Juliet Piascik is a public health nurse in Yellowknife who found help under the mentorship program in 1994 before there was a formalized, funded program such as the one Bell describes.

After Bell completed her registered nurse program in Kamloops, B.C., she returned North to Inuvik, where she was paired with a mentor to build her confidence and skills.

After working in Inuvik, she went back to school to complete her bachelor of science in nursing at the University of Victoria in 1996.

"To complete the program I did a five-week mentorship program under the direction of public health," she said.

"This enabled me to gain exposure to the public and the work experience in the community."

Piascik said hospital training is very institutional compared with clinic experience, which she received through mentoring.

"With the community I'm able to do home visits, work in the public health clinic, immunizing babies and working with clients," she said.

"Because I gained work experience with public health, it provided employment opportunities for me. So having that five-week mentorship program, not only did I gain knowledge about public health, but I gained knowledge about working in the community when a position did come up in public health, I was able to apply for it."

Piascik and Bell both gave a presentation on nurse mentoring at the human resources conference at the Explorer Hotel on Sept. 13.