DescriptionDuring this one-hour webinar, participants will hear from students and faculty who created nursing peer mentorship programs (NPMP). Students in Douglas College’s BSN Program in Coquitlam, BC will explain how their NPMP was started in 2010, and how it has supported students’ wellbeing over the last decade. Students from the Ingram School of Nursing, McGill University in Montreal will describe how their program generates a sense of belonging and connection amongst the undergraduate and graduate student bodies. The focus will be on sharing experiences of creating these NPMPs so that interested participants can use the information to implement a similar program at their institutions. A Q&A session will close the webinar.
English
Sienna Hammell is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Student (BSN) attending Douglas College in Coquitlam, British Columbia. She is in her third year of the nursing program and is interested in pursuing pediatric critical care in the future. She has been a peer mentorship program (PMP) coordinator since her second semester as a nursing student and is also an active member of the Curriculum and Program Evaluation Committee within her College. Her role in the Peer Mentorship Program includes supporting her peers with finding resources to strengthen their student nurse career, being a confidante, and building supportive friendships amongst all nursing students, to name a few. Outside of the BSN program, Sienna works in a law firm based in the downtown core and has a history of volunteering for and working with children in a childcare facility. For the purposes of this presentation, she will be speaking on how the PMP has impacted her nursing student career and positively contributed to her overall mental wellbeing.
Priya Rideout is a nursing faculty member in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program at Douglas College in Coquitlam, British Columbia and a Douglas College alumna. As a student, Priya and a fellow classmate co-created the Peer Mentorship Program in 2010 after identifying a need for change in student culture and a sense of community among peers.
Upon completion of the BSN program, Priya pursued her passion for emergency nursing and completed additional emergency certification training. She worked in the busiest ER in Western Canada for over 10 years. Additionally, Priya took on various clinical leadership and mentorship roles during her time as a registered nurse in the ER, dental surgical setting, a vaccination program, and multiple government agencies. Priya recently completed the Master of Nursing – Professional Practice program at the University of Saskatchewan. It is during this time that she developed her passion for education and teaching.
Christina Dahdah, BSc Physiology (2019), is a third year MSc(A) Nursing (formerly Direct Entry Nursing) student at McGill University Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN). Throughout her undergraduate degree at McGill University, Christina mentored in the International Student Buddy program, and since joining ISoN in 2019, she has been a member of the Nursing Peer Mentorship Program (NPMP) as a mentee, mentor, and graduate student representative on the NPMP organizing committee. Christina is also the current VP Academic – Direct Entry with the Nursing Graduate Student Association (NGSA, 2021-2022). By combining these roles and interests, Christina hopes to promote healthy learning environments, accessible academic resources, and peer support within the school of nursing
Vanessa D’Aquila, BScN, is a MSc (Applied) Nursing Service Administration third year student at McGill University, Ingram School of Nursing (ISoN). She is currently McGill’s Nursing Graduate Student Association (NGSA) President (2021-2022) and was previously McGill’s Nursing Undergraduate Society (NUS) President (2016-2017). She has been a member of McGill’s Nursing Peer Mentorship Program (NPMP) Organizing Team since 2014, and has continued to do research alongside the NPMP Director, Prof. Lia Sanzone, as an alumnus of the program. Since 2018, she has been working as a Registered Nurse Clinician in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) setting and has recently participated in McGill’s Nightingale Fellowship program as a mentor to undergraduate nursing students. Her goals are to continue to strengthen and unify her nursing and interdisciplinary community, while promoting environmentally responsible initiatives that support planetary health.
Lia Sanzone has been involved in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels of study in nursing since 2001. Prior to taking on a full-time position at McGill and becoming Director of the B.Sc. (N.) program, she worked in various clinical and administrative positions in community health for close to 20 years.
Since becoming the Director of the Nursing Peer Mentorship Program (NPMP) for students in 2014, she has become a consultant for other national and international nursing schools in helping them develop their mentorship programs for nursing and non-nursing students. She has been cited as a nursing leader in Strength Based Nursing (SBN) Approach and in Nursing Mentorship. In 2016, she was the recipient of the Excellence in Academic Advising by the Dean of Students and the McGill University Faculty of Medicine Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2021, she was awarded a Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Award for Teaching Innovation.