RPN Bridging to University Nursing Offers Nurses Best of Both Academic Worlds

There are many Practical nursing program offered within the Canadian context, and with very good reason. The nursing field has come a long way from the days of bedside care and today nurses are essential members of the healthcare team. As such, nurses work in a variety of settings inclusive of, but not limited to, the operating room, long-term care and specialty areas such as emergency, pediatrics and community settings. This requires them to have obtained certain credentials in order to move up in the field. Right now is a great time for nurses to invest in their careers because the Canadian Nurses Association predicts that if the current trends in the nursing workforce continue, there will be a shortage of 113,000 registered nurses by 2016 in Canada.

At Centennial College, registered practical nurses (RPNS) can bridge to a Bachelor of Nursing in approximately three years. These RPNs must hold a diploma from a community college of applied arts and technology (CAAT) with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or higher and have no repeated courses or failures on their academic transcript.

Here is a closer look at how the offering works.

• The RPN Bridging to University Nursing program curriculum is based on the College of Nurses’ Standards of Practice for Nursing and Entry to Practice Competencies for Ontario Registered Nurses.
• Because these nurses already have a solid academic base, courses focus on ethics and professional practice, health assessment, skill mastery and caring for clients with acute and chronic illness and will provide the foundation for nursing practice.
• There is a unique aspect to the offering in that it emphasizes caring for individuals, groups and communities in acute care, mental health and community settings.
• Courses are balanced between theoretical knowledge and practical application in clinical settings under the direction, facilitation and guidance of faculty.
• The facility from which the Centennial College part of the program is facilitated is the institution’s most technological campus, Morningside.
• At Morningside, students have access to clinical labs and a mock healthcare environment, where they can apply what they have learned in their classes.
• Students have the advantage of receiving individual clinical feedback and evaluation, which not only benefits them but also gives employers valuable evidence of current and safe clinical practice.
• Centennial College strives to provide support and meet the needs of adult and English-as-a-second-language students enrolled in its registered practical nursing program.
• Among particular courses within the offering are: Acute and Chronic Illness Theory, Ethics and Professional Practice, Family Centred Nursing Theory, Mental Health Nursing Practice, Community Nursing Theory, Nursing Research and many others.