Steve Cairns is an Assistant Professor at Nipissing University who has completed two fellowships through the Associated Medical Services/Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (AMS/RNAO):

 

2018 - An exploration of relational practice in online nursing education – approaches and insights

2019 - An emerging conceptual module for developing relational practice within an online community of inquiry

 

Distance learning requires an openness to understanding digital engagement in relational terms if authentic collaboration is to be both encouraged and expected. Being authentic in virtual spaces offers a challenge to notions of what it means to be human in a digital age. The work of these fellowships has been to support humanizing digital experiences in online nursing education. Steve’s fellowship work has been to build opportunities for authentic engagement among participants in distance learning. He argues that this involves transforming etiquette expectations, growing capacity for digital fluency among students, and building human-centered relational engagement amidst increasing social change within a digital age.

 

Each fellowship has focused on online RPN to BScN undergraduate nursing students who are attending part-time studies while continuing to practice nursing. Steve has recently completed a PhD at York University focusing on nurses who are actively involved in planetary health. He has 29 years of experience as a nurse and educator who enjoys an active lifestyle in all seasons with his family.