Wabasca people train to be nurses

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Nursing assistants are being trained here for Wabasca's first hospital, currently under construction.

Students from the Wabasca area have been training in the 10-month registered nursing assistant program since January. When they complete their training Oct. 14, six of the 10 students now in the program will be stationed at the Wabasca hospital, expected to open next year.

The students are in their third month of training in the joint AVC/CVC (Alberta Vocational Centre/Community Vocational Centre) program.

Instructor Alice Taylor notes "all of the students are going a great job. They're very dedicated."

Taylor says the students are being trained right in Wabasca at the post office. A spare room at the office was converted into a classroom and lab before the intense training program started. "The students are learning class room theory and practicing it in the lab ? putting splinters and bandages on each other," she explains.

The students are also rotating from the community to hospitals in Athabasca and Slave Lake where they "take care of real patients." But first, the students have to meet strict guidelines by scoring at least 80 per cent on all written tests and 100 per cent on practical training tests in the lab before being allowed into a hospital setting.

"We have pretty stiff requirements and expect a lot of the students. But, so far, they're all passing the required tests," said Taylor.

The students will spend the last month of the program in hospitals of their choice, getting practical experience in patient care. At the completion of the program, the students will be required to take a provincial exam which will decide if they are qualified to be "registered" nursing assistants.

Wabasca-born student Karen Yellowknee is excited about the prospect of working in a hospital. But, she admits that she was nervous at the thought of it, in the beginning. "I was kind of worried that I would make a mistake," explains Yellowknee, noting she overcame her fears thanks to the experience she has received from the program.

Student Lisa Metzner, also of Wabasca, says she has experienced a "personal growth" since joining the program. "I'm finding that I'm more aware of how other people are feeling," she says, "and that's what you need to help other people."