Methods: The Bachelor of Science in Arctic Nursing Program is delivered by Nunavut Arctic College (NAC) in Iqalit, Nunavut in partnership with Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A number of activities have fostered student leadership initiatives in the Program, including student attendance at conferences, focused assignments within the leadership course, and service learning experiences. One highly successful activity is the 3rd-Year nursing students’ participation in a leadership activity prior to their six-week intersession clinical placement at Dalhousie University in Halifax. As part of the orientation experience for the Arctic Nursing students in Halifax, they participate in a two-day Leadership Boot Camp where, through learning experiences the students acquire theoretical and practical leadership strategies and skills. Upon completion of their clinical placement in Halifax, the students return to Nunavut, highly motivated and enthused about their acquired leadership knowledge and understanding. They express interest and willingness to take on a leadership role, and this interest has translated into a number of both formal and informal activities that have allowed the students to demonstrate leadership within the School of Nursing. Informal activities have included advocacy initiatives, such as submitting an article to the local newspaper to raise public awareness and to correct the myths about the BScN Program, and leading student-professional development forums. Formal initiatives have included incorporation of student leadership activities into several courses, such as peer mentoring of junior students by senior students.
Results: The success of the BScN (Arctic Nursing) Program leadership initiatives has resulted from three important environmental factors: (a) students feeling safe and challenged as a result of academic leadership activities, which enhance their sense of belonging; (b) clearly defined goals, objectives and tasks the students work together on; and (c) student-and-Faculty-groups being small and cohesive, and all contributing to the learning process. The students are individually accountable for their work, and the group-work as a whole is also assessed and evaluated.
Conclusion: Leadership learning experiences have promoted and enhanced the students’ academic and clinical performance, and have resulted in increased confidence and satisfaction by capitalizing on achieving their goals and objectives. Students actively invest in their own learning, sharing their strengths and improving on their weaker skills, demonstrating respect for each other, and with improved interpersonal relationships among the student-groups and instructors. This innovative approach to teaching-learning remains an ongoing goal and a challenge, yielding highly achievable and positive academic results among the nursing-student-faculty population at Nunavut Arctic College.