Setting, Design, and Method: Phenomenological interviews, Likert scale evaluations, and frequency of course completion were used to determine the effectiveness of the on-line education courses provided to nursing mentors and mentees in a 500 bed acute care hospital.

Concept Targeted: Web-based didactic training for nurses included content on: 1) enhancing cross cultural sensitivity, 2) treating and preventing family violence and child abuse, 3) working with patients with borderline personality disorder, depression, schizophrenia, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, and homelessness, 4) promoting clinical reasoning and critical thinking, 5) developing mentoring skills, and 6) providing effective palliative care. Evidence based practices for each of the above topic areas were summarized as part of the on-line course.

Findings: It was effective to offer nurses the choice of completing on-line modules from home or work and for continuing education or elective master's level credit. It was helpful to have mentors and mentees discuss which module was the best match for the needs of the novice nurse and his/her unit prior to selecting which on-line content area would be completed.

Conclusions: Offering nurses a chance to select relevant on-line content was more effective than prescribing which courses were to be completed. Providing an in person overview of on-line content assisted novice nurses and mentors to decide which courses were most relevant to their practice area.

Implications: A broad spectrum of continuing education modules were effectively utilized to augment the training of new graduate, transfer, and re-entry nurses and to tailor content to the needs of particular novice nurses and to the given unit or patient population.