National Nursing Week

AS A COLLEGE, WE: Regulate registered nurses and nurse practitioners in Manitoba Support RN and NP practice Help ensure patient safety Contribute to meeting health human resource needs AT THE END OF 2023, WE HAD: FOR MORE INFO, VISIT: CRNM.MB.CA 13,891 Registered Nurses 338 Nurse Practitioners 12 Graduate Nurses Happy Nursing Week to all Nurses in Manitoba We're focused on sustaining patient safety and creating broader public benefit, together with registered nurses and nurse practitioners. 8 MAY 6-12, 2024 SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2024 NATIONAL NURSING WEEK Changing lives. SHAPING TOMORROW. BY JANINE LEGAL W hile not everyone can say that they are changing lives through their work, nurse educators are doing just that. Rhonda Campbell, Indigenous nurse practitioner (NP) and director of Mahkwa omushki kiim: Pathway to Indigenous Nursing Education (PINE) at the University of Manitoba College of Nursing, says educators draw on the best available evidence to educate and shape the future for nurse practitioner practice. "We include it in our curriculum so that NP students are best prepared in meeting those competencies. PINE is a support unit within the UM College of Nursing specifically for Indigenous students that are interested in nursing. We support them academically and also with tutoring access," Campbell explains. "We arrange for smaller classes in biology, microbiology and math. We also have a Knowledge Keeper on our team for cultural supports. We have an Indigenous student advisor who is part of our team who is very culturally informed and very knowledgeable about the academic processes. Once students are admitted into the College of Nursing, they are also provided with those same supports, academic and cultural, as well as financial supports." The bachelor of nursing program has 30 seats designated under the Canadian Indigenous category, and applicants must meet the required GPA and indicate they are of Indigenous ancestry. The master of nursing and nurse practitioner programs also have designated 20 per cent of the seats for Indigenous students. "The faculty members are the cream of the crop. They've been practising for a number of years as educators at the university," Campbell says. "But there's more work to be done to make the master's program more accessible to remote and rural learners and to Indigenous nurses." Currently, there are 121 students in the PINE Indigenous Education Unit, and 60 per cent are in the 28-month bachelor of nursing program. "The college supports nurse educators in terms of preparing us with supports to become better educators. We have access to additional training, professional development, continuing education and conferences we can attend," she says. "We have support in terms of our colleagues. We often network and discuss how classes are going. We have a good working environment with great support from leadership and colleagues." As a nurse practitioner faculty member at the College of Nursing, Campbell appreciates the connection with future NP students, while also sharing about the historical and contemporary issues in Indigenous health. "The College of Nursing is building towards reconciliation as part of the strategic priorities and specifically on calls to action, increasing the number of Indigenous health professionals and also providing culturally safe education for health-care providers," she says. "We are also in the process of finding ways to Indigenize the nursing curriculum, which is led by our Indigenous Pedagogy and Curriculum Working Group. It's getting done, but it takes time. The college is committed to reconciliation." Danielle Yaffe, an award-winning educator and instructor at the College of Nursing, says that preparing competent nurses for the future is a high priority. "We have a big responsibility to the public to ensure emerging nurses are equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to deliver competent and safe care," she says. "We also have a responsibility to our students. We want our students to feel prepared for the realities of the role and possess the tools to have a successful and fulfilling career." Students learn in multiple settings including classrooms, clinical settings and simulation labs, where they engage in scenarios that build skills in assessment, critical thinking, communication and clinical decision-making. "As students move through courses, they acquire not only knowledge and skills but the professional values and attributes that are necessary to be safe, empathetic and reliable in the role," Yaffe says. "As faculty, we strive to inspire students to be passionate about the profession and commit to nursing excellence through lifelong learning, advocacy and leadership." Each year, UM College of Nursing admits three cohorts of 120 bachelor of nursing students — plus 40 more in The Pas/Thompson — with an additional 20 in the master of nursing program, 25 in the nurse practitioner program and eight in PhD studies. Grateful for the leadership team and their strong support through professional development opportunities, Yaffe says they gained more understanding of blended learning, online platforms and the virtual world. "We have much more information on equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility than in the past," she says. "We want to train nurses to be reflective in their practice and be culturally sensitive to all people they care for." Yaffe notes that simulation and virtual reality play a vital role in nursing education. "It provides students with the opportunity to practise patient care in a simulated clinical environment. Educators can create a virtual patient room or entire ward with all the equipment and tools available virtually," she says. "It also allows for multiple people to work together within the same scenario and they do not need to be within the same physical space." Since graduating from the University of Manitoba, Yaffe is proud to now be a faculty member at the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, and is inspired by the passion and creativity of her colleagues and their motivation to think outside the box. "It is an absolute privilege to be a teacher of nursing, working with students and preparing future nurses for an incredible career," she says. "It's why we take our jobs so seriously: we want the graduates to be great nurses." SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2024 EDUCATING THE NEXT GENERATION OF NURSES Rhonda Campbell (left) is an Indigenous nurse practitioner and director of Mahkwa omushki kiim: Pathway to Indigenous Nursing Education at the University of Manitoba College of Nursing. Danielle Yaffe (right) is an award-winning educator and instructor at the College of Nursing. (Photos by Darcy Finley) "We want to train nurses to be reflective in their practice and be culturally sensitive to all people they care for." – Danielle Yaffe, instructor at the College of Nursing

• Cover