Trent’s Nursing Graduates Find Employment at Remote and Rural Locations
Unique experiential learning program is developing better, qualified practitioners as students gain experience in northern Ontario
Graduates from the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing (TFSON) are landing interesting, well-paying jobs in remote and rural locations thanks to the School’s fourth-year placement program.
Kim English, a TFSON professor, has been working with the Weeneebayko Health Authority in northern Ontario to support Trent nursing students placed at its three sites — Attawapiskat, Fort Albany and Moose Factory. Professor English says students enjoy and appreciate the different role of a registered nurse (RN) in this kind of remote setting. So much so, in fact, that Trent graduates currently account for 40% of new registered nurses recruited to Attawapiskat.
The role is unique because with no physicians physically present in the community, and only one nurse practitioner carrying a heavy case load, RNs handle the day-to-day healthcare needs and act as the eyes and ears of the physicians that take their referrals.
“This makes for a much more autonomous nursing leadership role with very different types of patient interactions from what they would get at hospitals in the larger urban communities,” says Prof. English.
She adds that the experience is invaluable no matter where they decide to work.
“It’s an absolute wealth of learning and it makes them a better practitioner,” Prof. English says.
Students complete two 12-week placements in the fourth year of their undergraduate program, one at the beginning and one at the end of the academic year.
These placements are a part of the TFSON’s focus on both rural and Indigenous concepts, helping better prepare students for these experiences.
Learn more about the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing.