Program offers opportunity for northern nursing students
- Submitted | March 20, 2014
Have you been considering a career in nursing? Are you concerned about relocating to complete your education? Don't be. The University of Saskatchewan College of Nursing, together with Northlands College, offers a full four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree in La Ronge and Ile-a-la-Crosse. This means smaller class sizes, the support of family and friends and lower living expenses while completing your education.
The U of S College of Nursing offered the first class of undergraduate nursing education in northern Saskatchewan in September 2012. The program offers 15 seats per year to residents of the North. Students can complete their first year of pre-nursing studies through Northlands College in Ile-a-la-Crosse, La Ronge, Buffalo Narrows or Creighton, then apply to the U of S College of Nursing and complete years two, three, & four in Ile-a-la-Crosse or La Ronge. In order to take the first year of pre-nursing studies at Northlands College, students must have completed grade 12 English, Math, Biology and Chemistry.
"By educating students where they live, it is more likely they will stay in their home community and work as registered nurses when they complete their training," said College of Nursing acting Dean Lois Berry. "The BSN program was implemented in the North to address the chronic shortages and turnover amongst registered nursing staff."
Karla Hardcastle, the Manager of University Programming at Northlands College, values the opportunity of offering the BSN in northern Saskatchewan: "Many of our students are the first in their families to pursue a university degree. They are able to start and complete a Nursing degree without having to move away from their support network of family and friends for four years. Northlands College also has a learning-centre approach to university education, so students have academic and moral support throughout their degree program. These degree nursing graduates will be in high demand by the Northern Health Authorities. This program will change their lives."
Learn where YOU live. Apply now. Applications are still being accepted for the September 2014 intake. For more information, please visit Northlands College or the U of S College of Nursing.