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Province approves nursing degrees for colleges

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A provincial government decision announced Wednesday may help keep locally-trained nurses in the area.

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The announcement gives colleges the option to deliver stand-alone nursing degree programs, a change in policy which addresses the health human resources shortage faced by many communities, including those in the Bay of Quinte region. The decision will give Loyalist College the ability to graduate more qualified nurses to fill local workplace needs.

Since 2000, the province has required colleges to partner with universities to offer nursing degree programs.

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Students enrolled in college programs often have to relocate to a different community to complete their studies at university. That meant students in Loyalist’s collaborative nursing degree program spend the first two years at Loyalist College in Belleville and the final two years in St. Catharines to graduate with a B.Sc.N. For many, the 300-kilometre distance between the institutions can be a barrier to program entry and completion.

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Loyalist College president and CEO Dr. Ann Marie Vaughan said the change in policy should increase the number of nurses who will remain in the Quinte region post graduation.

“Fewer than five per cent of our nursing graduates return to work in the Bay of Quinte region where we really need them,” stated Vaughan. “Providing students with the option to complete their nursing degree at Loyalist will improve health care delivery in our communities by attracting more individuals into nursing professions here. As an international leader in nursing education, Loyalist has the faculty expertise, academic excellence and innovative experiential learning environments to deliver the full program on our own.”

On January 28, Loyalist officially opened the renovated third floor of its Northumberland Wing, home of the college’s integrated health and human studies programs. Equipped with inter-professional simulation centres and high-tech classrooms, the initiative was made possible through a $2.4 million government investment in 2016, of which $1.6 million came from the federal government and $800,000 came from the province. Loyalist contributed an additional $800,000 for a total investment of $3.2 millionStudents and community health partners use the latest simulation technology to participate in realistic, interactive scenarios as well as educational upgrading.

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“Quinte Health Care is delighted with this great news for Loyalist College and our community,” said Carol Smith Romeril, vice president and chief nursing officer at Quinte Health Care. “We look forward to welcoming students and graduates into our care environments.”

The policy change will also create opportunities to develop laddering pathways for Personal Support Workers and Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) to stay in their local communities while becoming RPNs and Registered Nurses (RNs). As the college student population mirrors the general population, college nursing delivery will foster a more diverse health care workforce that can respond more effectively to patients.

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