The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The University College of the North will create 50 new spaces for nursing students, but the specifics of the plan are still being worked out. Staff must iron out details such as how the spaces will be distributed throughout the region and what level of nursing will be offered. "We are looking forward to working with the government and our partners to develop a nursing education plan for the North," said UCN spokesman Doug Lauvstad. UCN, which operates campuses and regional centres throughout the region, expects to open the new spaces sometime next year. "If northern people are trained in the North, they obviously will stay and work and contribute to the North," said Lauvstad. The province announced the spaces this week as part of a $1.25-million investment aimed in part at improving rural and northern training opportunities. "We want to. . . expand education opportunities and to address specific challenges in rural and northern Manitoba," said Premier Gary Doer in a press statement. UCN, formerly Keewatin Community College, has a history of providing northerners with educational opportunities in the area of nursing. Over the years, students have enrolled in Bachelor of Nursing programs and trained to become LPNs and RNs. The new funding brings the total annual investment in nurse education in Manitoba to $16.2 million, an increase of nearly 65 per cent since 1999. The additional funds have helped spur a 60 per cent increase in nurse program enrollment, more than 1,000 students. Premier Doer said future investments in nursing will be targeted in areas of specific shortages such as critical care and psychiatric nursing.
