RPN Bridging to University Nursing Caters to Experienced Nurses

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) reports that there were more than 360,000 regulated nurses employed across the country by the end of 2011, a jump of eight per cent since 2007. If you are one of these nurses but wish to advance your career by obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, you will want to attend a program that understands your needs as a professional and gets you the credential you want in the shortest time possible.

Centennial College has designed a program just like that in its registered practical nursing offering, called RPN Bridging to University Nursing. This objective of this program is to give an academic pathway to assist registered practical nurses (RPNs) with bridging to BScN in approximately three years.

Students, however, only spend two semesters at Centennial College. Upon successful completion of all program requirements, as long as they are eligible, students may apply to the post-diploma nursing degree program at Ryerson University, offered by the Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing and the Chang School of Continuing Education.

During their time at Centennial College, students enjoy many unique aspects. One of which is that there is an emphasis on caring for individuals, groups and communities in acute care, mental health and community settings. The training through which this emphasis is achieved is based on the College of Nurses’ Standards of Practice for Nursing and Entry to Practice Competencies for Ontario Registered Nurses. As such, students cover key medical topics such as acute and chronic illness theory and practice, community nursing theory and practice, pathotherapeutics, mental health and crisis management theory, and more. Additionally, courses include essential professional development topics such as: ethics and professional practice, advanced communication and leadership, nursing research, and nursing knowledge (historical and futuristic perspectives). Learners gain an understanding of nursing knowledge acquisition, and how research is utilized and applied to complex client care situations.

Because practical nursing program at college level provide a significant amount of practical application, students in this offering apply theoretical knowledge in clinical settings under the direction, facilitation and guidance of faculty. This is made simple by the fact that Centennial College, at its Morningside Campus, has a well-equipped nursing lab that is available for independent and self-directed practice. In this lab, students interact with dummies who serve as “patients”, role play a range of scenarios and work with their peers from whom they can also learn. Not only do the labs serve to strengthen students’ nursing abilities but they also are opportunities to develop communication and leadership skills at an advanced level. Individual clinical feedback and evaluation gives employers valuable evidence of current and safe clinical practice.

Rounding out the offering is a clinical placement in the field that allows students to develop their professional networks.

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.

College Nursing Program Offer Theory and Practical Experience

We have a strong clinical component to our practical nursing programs,” says Steven Jacobs, coordinator of the Nursing program at Centennial College. “Students take many science courses such as Anatomy and Physiology, Pathophysiology and many nursing courses. The mannequins [we have in our labs] breathe, speak, and are able to do breath sounds. So, our vital simulation lab is really state-of-the-art and really assists our students in learning a lot of the nursing skills they need to know. Once our students graduate, we have a 98% pass rate on the College of Nurses exam.” Erica, a students in the Nursing program, offers her perspective: “I think it’s real interesting to work with the figures that they have that mimic human vital signs and impulses so I have an idea of what it means to work with patients. So I’m not going in there with cold feet and hands. I’m actually prepared.”

These glowing testimonials offer a great overview of the Practical Nursing program, which takes two years to complete. In order to apply, students must have completed at least an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Also required are: Compulsory English 12C or U or equivalent, Math 11M or U, or 12C or U, or equivalent, Biology 11C, or U, or 12C, or U, or equivalent and one of the following sciences chemistry or physics 11U, or 12C, or U, or equivalent. Meanwhile, non-academic requirements include English proficiency, official transcripts of upgraded courses (if required), Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition (PLAR), where applicable; Canadian citizenship, permanent residence of Canada or authorization under the Immigration Act (Canada); no criminal convictions including those under the Narcotic Control or Food and Drugs Acts; no subject of proceedings, with respect to professional misconduct, incompetence or incapacity in another health profession in Ontario, or in nursing in another jurisdiction; no suffering from a mental or physical disorder that makes it desirable in the public interest that you not practice; annual clear vulnerable police check prior to clinical placement, a completed immunization review form; successful completion of a current recognized course in CPR Level HCP (Health Care Provider) and standard first aid and a mask fit testing.

The Practical Nursing program reflects the 2009 Entry-to-Practice Competencies from the College of Nurses of Ontario. These competencies reflect the evolving and expanding role of the Practical Nurse as provided by the Nursing Act and the Regulated Health Professions Act (RHPA). In addition, students are taught in small groups in clinical and laboratory settings utilizing the latest technology, such as computerized simulation, by a faculty group that has extensive clinical expertise. Specific courses in this college nursing program include: Practical Nursing Theory (three levels), Anatomy & Physiology, Developmental Psychology, Practical Nursing Professional Growth (three levels), Practical Nursing Clinical Application (three levels), and more. Classroom instruction is supplemented by independent study, multimedia support and on-going clinical experience. In addition, students partake in a field placement that sees them working in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and community settings to apply what they have learned and obtain new practical knowledge.

Graduates of this specific registered practical nursing may pursue further study in Centennial Continuing Education programs: RPN – Perioperative Nursing or RPN – Advanced Mental Health. In addition, they may pursue further study a Bachelor of Science in Nursing through Centennial’s innovative Bridging program.