Northern College -- long term focus on nursing.

Programs such as the new four-year collaborative nursing degree program at Northern College are integral to keeping people working and living in the northeast, according to Joanne Carbonneau, the program's coordinator.

Having phased out the three-year nursing diploma program at the request of the Ontario College of Nurses, Northern entered into a collaboration with Laurentian University, Cambrian College and Sault College. As a result, all four institutions offer the same curriculum, resulting in a degree issued by Laurentian.

However, rather than having to spend two years at the college and two years at the university, Northern students can do all four years of study at the Porcupine campus. This allows students a greater opportunity to find work in their home communities.

"If they're going to be in Timmins doing their practicum, it means they'll be getting jobs here, so it's very good for the community," Carbonneau says.

"It's been wonderful, and people up North in Kapuskasing, Hearst, Iroquois Falls now have access to a university program a lot closer than having to go to Sudbury."

With 68 students throughout its four-year program, seven graduates were seen in the first graduating class last year. All of them found employment in their field, a trend Carbonneau expects will continue as enrolment steadily increases year over year, with 16 students set to graduate this year.

Being able to offer students the opportunity to earn a nursing degree, rather than a nursing diploma is key to furthering their career and making Northern Ontario a stronger academic option. This avenue allows graduates to choose between becoming a nurse practitioner or pursuing a master's degree, a choice which is becoming increasingly important to students, Carbonneau says.

Another important element of the program is its hands-on approach. In their first semester of their first year, students are already spending time in a long-term care facility, and a continuing care floor of a hospital by their second semester. In their fourth year, they are spending nearly 600 hours in a clinical setting by following a registered nurse across the two final semesters.

"We get them in immediately, and that way, students have a sense of whether or not they want to continue after their first year or if it's really what they want to do. Before that, it used to take us a little longer to get them into a clinical setting, but now, in their first semester, first rotation, they're doing some clinical."

This structure offers a greater challenge, which has helped to draw more males to the predominantly female program. In a class of 25 nursing students at Northern this year, five were male, whereas one or two tends to be the average, Carbonneau says.

The program has also drawn the attention of employers outside the region. From hospitals to long-term care settings and even to mine sites, Northern has been fielding calls from sectors across Canada looking to snap up impending graduates.

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"I think because it's a degree in nursing that makes them especially attractive. For example, the health unit has historically only hired those bachelor of science in nursing (BScN). Normally, the health unit has hired graduates from Sudbury or Ottawa or whatever, but now they're able to do their clinical here and then get a job at the health unit."

QUICK FACTS

Northern College

Timmins

Student population: 9857

President: Michael Hill

Established: 1967

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business