To meet the growing demand from health-care workers, and as Alberta battles the COVID-19 pandemic, Mount Royal University's School of Nursing and Midwifery is expanding its Bridge to Canadian Nursing program, providing a crucial step for nurses trained in other countries to help save lives here.
The expanded program, which MRU began offering in 2006, will accept 120 students per academic year starting this fall, an increase of 40 over last year, in response to student demand that has gone from 150 applicants in 2017 to 375 in 2019.
Students in the program, the only one of its kind in Alberta, come from all over the world including the Philippines, India and other Asian countries as well as the U.K., U.S. and parts of the Caribbean.
Bridge to Canadian Nursing graduate Louie Marie Lupot spent five years as a nurse in her native Philippines before coming to Canada with her family in 2015.
"Through this program, I am able to bridge my home country nursing experience to becoming a valuable contributor on the front lines here in Canada. MRU's Bridge to Canadian Nursing is the most holistic and comprehensive approach that translates into workplace knowledge and will get me up and running in no time."
Bridge to Canadian Nursing courses are developed to meet the requirements of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta (CARNA) and provide internationally educated nurses (IEN) with the additional education they require to become licensed Registered Nurses in Alberta.
"Nurses are always needed and professional nurses who immigrate to Canada but are not able to obtain a licence are an untapped source of knowledge and skill," said Robyn Stewart, assistant professor at MRU and coordinator of the Bridge to Canadian Nursing Program. "The program is now equipped to offer even more IEN students the opportunity to meet their goals of becoming Registered Nurses in Canada."
Video message from Bridge to Canadian Nursing student Louie Marie Lupot :
Read more on the program here.
