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COTR gets eight new nursing training seats
Six hundred and two new nursing seats are being added to public post-secondary institutions throughout the province, including eight at College of the Rockies (COTR), in partnership with the University of Victoria (UVic).
A total of 602 new nursing seats will be added to approximately 2,000 seats currently in nursing programs in B.C.’s public post-secondary institutions. The new seats include 362 registered nursing seats, 40 registered psychiatric nursing seats, 20 nurse practitioner seats and 180 licensed practical nurse seats at 17 public post-secondary institutions, the Ministry of Health reported.
As part of this expansion, new seats will support health-care assistants who want to train as a licensed practical nurse (LPN), and LPNs looking to move into a career as a registered nurse (RN).
Government provided $5 million to public post-secondary institutions in 2021-22 to begin the expansion of nursing seats throughout the province.
This expansion builds on recent investments in growing health programs in the province. Government has also provided approximately $8.7 million in 2021-22 to support health educational training programs, including the expansion of specialty nursing and the launch of a new nursing program in the northeast.
Government is also providing an initial $475,000 to support graduate nurse education at UBC, UVic and UNBC. The funding will provide for the development of faculty and nurse leaders, with a plan for ongoing faculty and leadership support being developed in partnership with education and health-sector experts.
Training new nurses is only one way the province is addressing the nursing shortage in British Columbia. A Provincial Health Human Resources Strategy is under development, which will set out actions to grow, recruit and retain the health-care workers needed to meet the health-care needs of British Columbians in the future.
“Nurses are, indeed, the backbone of health care, but more often than not, their backs are breaking due to the staffing crisis. We recognize this investment as a step in the right direction and look forward to working together with all parties to build on today’s announcement for the future,” said Aman Grewal, president of the BC Nurses’ Union.
There are approximately 40,000 registered nurses working in British Columbia.
B.C. has 650 registered nurses per 100,000 population.
Between 2017 and 2020, the number of registered nurses providing publicly funded health services increased by 2,259 or six per cent, while the number of licensed practical nurses increased by 1,141 or 12%.
COTR file photo
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