Unique nursing program offers success for filling gap

The Regulated Nursing Workforce in Canada (2005) report estimates that of the 251,675 registered nurses in Canada, approximately 1,200 are Aboriginal.

Over the past four years, the University of Lethbridge has been redressing this shortage through its unique Support Program for Aboriginal Nurses. The program has proven to be highly successful, growing from seven students initially to 60 currently. SPANS originated with support from the federal government’s Aboriginal Health and Human Resource Program in 2005, said Marilyn Lamb, learning facilitator. When AHHRI support ended in March 2010, the university’s health sciences faculty assumed responsibility for the program, expanding it to include addictions counselling and public health.

In this transition, the university maintains partnerships with the Blackfoot Confederacy, Red Crow Community College, Blood Tribe Department of Health, Aakom-Kiyi Health Services at the Piikani Nation, and Siksika Health Services.  The primary objective of the program is to increase the number of registered nurses in First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities throughout Canada by recruiting and retaining academically capable students interested in nursing careers.

Through its open door policy, the program offers a strong support system for Aboriginal students, including one-on-one personal and academic support, tutors, assistance with scholarship applications and assistance resolving any other challenges the students may face. Sometimes this involves going into the classroom with them and discussions with their instructors, said Lamb. Retention is high.

“Typically, we haven’t lost many students,” she said.
Several unique elements contribute to the program’s success. The transition year offered to students who have been out of school or are uncertain about what they wish to study is a key component.  In the pre-nursing year students take Grade 12 courses required for acceptance into the nursing program.

“First Nations or Aboriginals, growing up on the reserve, don’t always know what is being offered,” said Marcia White Quills, from the Blood reserve. Although she had been away from school working for 13 years, White Quills was able to succeed in the nursing degree program, because of its support system.

In her final year of the BN, White Quills has received several scholarships that attest to her academic success. She describes the program as encouraging, supportive and inviting.

“Whether my concern was finals, books or any other worries,” White Quills said, “I was encouraged by Lamb to come on in and sit down. I always knew there was someone there.”

Another unique element of the program is the integral role the Elders play, bringing cultural concepts as they relate to health from a Blackfoot perspective.

“The Elders were encouraging, speaking the positive,” said White Quills. “It was more about their mission for the Kainai Nation, compassion and striving to help one another.”

Students are encouraged to see themselves as role models. When White Quills returned to her community to complete her summer practicum providing Kainai home care, she said, “I loved it. It was so rewarding to share skills and knowledge with my own people.”