THUNDER BAY — Confederation College has announced they are launching a provincially funded accelerated Practical Nursing Program at its Thunder Bay and regional campuses.
For students wanting to become practical nurses, the Ministry of Health will pay for tuition, fees, uniforms, and textbooks for eligible students willing to take the fast-tracked program at any one of their campuses.
Carol Cline, Dean of Workforce Development, said there are 50 seats available across all campuses.
However, prospective students will still need to pay for application fees.
The applications are open until Mar. 7 with classes set to begin on Mar. 10.
Typically, the Practical Nursing Program is two years, but the accelerated schedule will have students graduating in 16 months.
The program offers hands-on training in and outside of the classroom.
“The hope is that we're going to train folks and they are going to stay in those areas. Because we're looking to build the capacity in those areas. We're taking the training right into those regions so people can have access to staying home, being trained, and then have the jobs right where they live,” said Cline
Although the college’s Thunder Bay campus will have the accelerated program, Cline said their main focus is on those areas that are hit the hardest by the nursing shortage.
“It'll be more regionally focused. There will be a cohort here in Thunder Bay, but they'll be more focused on Dryden, Kenora, Fort Frances, Marathon, and Longlac. The areas where the shortages there are more significantly felt at this moment in time,” said Cline.
“It’s a really exciting time to be able to kind of expand what we do here at the college within the four walls and take it out into our other campuses in the region and address a pretty significant need.
Cline said the Ministry of Health approached the college to help alleviate the nursing shortage in the region and allow them to access just over $1.2 million in funding.
The college noted that by focusing on their regional campuses, they can remove a barrier for students who would otherwise have to leave their municipality and train in Thunder Bay.
“It's the regional areas that need to find the people to work in their hospitals and their long-term care facilities. Long-term care is becoming more and more given our aging population here. So, we are really trying to meet that need beyond just Thunder Bay, and recognizing that it's needed here too, but looking at how we can meet that need in some of those smaller areas in Northwestern Ontario,” said Cline.
