National Nursing Week

2 ● THE FREE PRESS NATIONAL NURSING WEEK MAY 8-14, 2023 OUR NURSES. OUR FUTURE. SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2023 BY JENNIFER MCFEE N urses play pivotal roles throughout a patient's health-care journey — and now is the time to celebrate their contributions. Around the globe, nurses are honoured each year during the week of May 12, coinciding with the birthday of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale. This year, National Nursing Week runs from Monday, May 8 to Sunday, May 14. To showcase the many roles nurses encompass, the Canadian Nurses Association developed this year's theme "Our Nurses. Our Future." It's worth taking the time to thank our nurses for the significant role they play in our past, present and future! COLLEGE OF REGISTERED NURSES OF MANITOBA Registered nurses (RNs) are regulated health- care professionals who provide nursing care to individuals, families, communities and groups at all stages of life and health. They assess, diagnose, plan and evaluate nursing care in inter- professional teams in a variety of settings. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced education at the master's level, which provides them with knowledge and skill to manage patient care as a sole practitioner or as part of a team. They must first meet all the qualifications and achieve registration as a registered nurse. Then they need to complete a master's degree in the nurse practitioner stream and pass a national licensure exam. RNs and nurse practitioners already working in Manitoba must renew their registration annually and complete ongoing quality assurance reviews. As of Dec. 31, 2022, there were 13,460 RNs and 313 nurse practitioners in Manitoba. "Nurses are the single largest group of health- care professionals within our system," said Deb Elias, CEO and registrar of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba. "They interact with clients, patients and families with knowledge regarding their health condition and treatment options with empathy and compassion." Nurses are also the link between clients and the rest of the health-care team, she added. "We understand that there continues to be significant workforce challenges affecting the health system in Manitoba and the RNs and nurse practitioners who work within it. We have been hard at work to understand these challenges and how the college can contribute to finding solutions together with government and our stakeholders," Elias said. "Our data show there has been a relatively stable number of RNs and nurse practitioners in Manitoba over the past 10 years. While this information helps paint a picture of the overall number of RNs and nurse practitioners eligible to work in the province, we recognize that this only tells part of the story." This number needs to be considered with an understanding of factors like how many are actively practising, how much they are working and how they are distributed across the health system, she noted. A career as a registered nurse or nurse practitioner is fulfilling, diverse and challenging, she said. "It is a career that opens many doors and offers many opportunities for ongoing learning and advancement. It involves working with people in all walks and stages of life and is always dynamic and meaningful," Elias said. "Nurses of all kinds continue to make significant personal contributions in providing Manitobans with competent nursing care. I would like to acknowledge their expertise, knowledge and compassion for the health and well-being of Manitobans and thank them for their critical and unfailing support of our health- care system." COLLEGE OF LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSES OF MANITOBA Licensed practical nurses (LPNs) have practised in Manitoba since the 1940s and today there are nearly 4,000 LPNs across the province in a range of settings. "Members of the LPN profession practise both independently and collaboratively with other members of the health-care team," said Jennifer Breton, executive director of the College of Licensed Practical Nurses. LPNs are responsible and accountable for their own practice and decisions. In Manitoba, they must carry their own liability insurance in addition to any coverage they might have through an employer. Many practical nursing education programs are delivered in communities outside Winnipeg. "Because of this, the LPN profession plays an important role in maintaining health-care service provision in many rural, remote and northern communities," Breton said. "LPNs are educated from the same body of nursing knowledge as other nurses. At entry-to- practice, Manitoba LPNs have completed a two- year college-level diploma program where they have studied physical, biological and nursing sciences." The focus of the program is on assessment, application, analysis, planning and evaluation. Practicum experiences are threaded throughout the program. "We have different pathways into practice for LPNs registered in other Canadian jurisdictions and nurses educated in other countries," Breton added. Compared to elsewhere in Canada, Manitoba- based LPNs have a broad scope of practice. "In some other Canadian jurisdictions, the focus of LPN practice is on the care of clients who are stable and who have predictable needs," Breton said. "Manitoba LPNs are educated to care for clients across the lifespan, who may or may not be stable and whose care needs may vary in complexity." The past few years have spotlighted how essential nurses are to maintaining health- care services in Canada across health-care environments. "Without nurses, our health-care system cannot function. Having an adequate supply of nurses is essential, but so too is the competence of those nurses," Breton said. "That is why we have made a number of changes to our registration policies and processes over the past few years to help expedite entry into practice for applicants to the profession while maintaining standards of competence so Manitobans can continue to expect safe, ethical and competent care from all those registered as LPNs in our province." Becoming an LPN is a wonderful career choice for those who want hands-on work in a caring profession, Breton said. "Because the entry-to-practice education for an LPN is shorter than other nursing programs, becoming an LPN is an excellent career choice for someone who has an interest in health sciences and nursing practice but who cannot devote more than two years to a full-time program," she said. "LPNs then have the opportunity to build on their foundational education over the course of their careers through experience, additional education and training." COLLEGE OF REGISTERED PSYCHIATRIC NURSES OF MANITOBA Registered psychiatric nurses are a regulated nursing profession in Manitoba, and they've been educated in Canada as a distinct profession for more than 100 years. These nursing professionals provide care and treatment to individuals, families, groups and communities with a focus on mental and developmental health, mental illness and addictions. "The therapeutic relationship, emotion, behaviour and cognition are also a major focus of psychiatric nursing practice, as is a holistic approach to care," explained Tracy Thiele, council chair for the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Manitoba. "Psychiatric nursing education prepares RPNs to understand the complex relationship between emotional, developmental, physical and mental health, as well as the role that social factors, culture and spirituality play in illness and recovery." Currently, there are more than 1,100 RPNs in Manitoba. The approved psychiatric nursing education program is offered by Brandon University at sites in both Brandon and Winnipeg. This four-year program leads to a bachelor of science in psychiatric nursing, and it includes studies in arts and science. Graduates of the program are eligible to write qualifying exams for RPN licensure with the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Manitoba. "As the saying goes, there is no health without mental health," Thiele said. "There is a definite need for more RPNs, and mental health professionals overall, in Manitoba." OUR NURSES ARE OUR FUTURE Loreley Fehr Ken Borce Tracy Thiele "It is a career that opens many doors and offers many opportunities for ongoing learning and advancement." Deb Elias, CEO and registrar of the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba Continued on page 3 >>

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