^aSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Gippsland Campus, Monash University, Northways Road, Churchill, Vic. 3842, Australia. E-mail: Jane.mills@med.monash.edu.au

Abstract

Strauss' Continual Permutations of Action provides a theoretical framework for analysis in this constructivist grounded theory study that examines Australian rural nurses' experiences of mentoring. The trajectory of cultivating and growing rural nurses is discussed in relation to the context or social world that participants exist within. Subconcepts of trajectory, namely the arc of action, trajectory phasing, trajectory projection, trajectory scheme, trajectory management and reciprocal impact are used to explain findings from Cultivating and Growing Rural Nurses: A grounded theory in order to shed light on the processual ordering of participants' experiences of mentoring.