Government of Yukon
News archives
FOR RELEASE #07-069
April 18, 2007
Nurse Mentorship Program Will Benefit All Yukon Residents
WHITEHORSE - Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers has announced a new Nurse Mentorship Program to help with recruitment and retention, and contribute to continuing access for quality care. Funding for this new program has been provided by the Territorial Health Access Fund.
"Last year, we announced a health human resources strategy that will help Yukon recruit and retain high quality health care providers. This program is another step in that direction and will facilitate the development of confident, competent nurses in the areas of acute care, continuing care and community nursing," Cathers said.
To date, eight nurses have been mentored through community nursing. The Continuing Care program and Whitehorse General Hospital expect to start mentoring later this spring. A coordinator will be hired to oversee the program.
"Mentoring programs bring experienced nurses together with those new to the nursing field to act as role models. Although this has happened informally for decades, we are now learning that organizing mentoring programs in a systematic way increases job satisfaction, quality of care, recruitment and retention of staff," Cathers added.
Mentors are given extra training in teaching and communication to help them pass on the knowledge and skills gained from years of experience.
"The mentorship program will be a win-win situation for individuals, health care programs, and most importantly, the people of Yukon," Cathers added.
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| Contact: | |
| Roxanne Vallevand Cabinet Communications 867-633-7949 roxanne.vallevand@gov.yk.ca |
Pat Living Communications, Health and Social Services 867-667-3673 patricia.living@gov.yk.ca |