A provincial funding announcement which includes adding seats to one of Northwestern Polytechnic’s nursing programs comes a day after the post-secondary announced its new nursing education program.
The Grande Prairie-based post-secondary announced on Monday it has launched the Practice Preparation for Domestic and Internationally Educated Nurses, which kicked off with a course focusing on preparing to write the NCLEX – Rn exam, the licensing exam nurses must pass to work in Canada. The school plans to have seven online courses available through the program by December 2023 offering a self-paced learning option.
Continuing Education Associate Dean Michelle Wallace says the hope and plan is that the initiative will help build and strengthen the province’s healthcare workforce.
The program announcement was made just a day before the provincial government announced the school was the recipient of half a million dollars to add 96 seats to its nurse bridging program. The funding is part of a larger $11 million infusion into nine post secondary schools to create 1,221 new spaces in nurse bridging programs provincially, including 848 seats for registered nurses and 373 for licensed practical nurses.
Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney says the seats will be added over three years, helping nurses from other countries to train to work in Alberta.
As well the province is putting $7.8 million into bursary programs for internationally educated nurses. These nursing students could receive up to $30,000 over five years to help with living expenses and tuition, with the condition they work in rural Alberta.