Nursing students to earn degrees closer to home at Douglas College

February 25 , 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Nursing students at Douglas College can now earn their degree closer to home. The College has been given the green light to grant Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees by the Ministry of Advanced Education. It's the first degree program to be offered by the College.

The degree program will allow students to complete their training at Douglas College, making their education more centralized and more affordable. Previously, students had to transfer to a degree-granting institution after completing their two-year diploma program at the College.

Joy Holmwood, Douglas College's Dean of Health Sciences, says the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program builds on the college's strong reputation in preparing nursing graduates since 1975.

"It's very exciting and rewarding for everyone in our Nursing Program to have the college approved to offer the full degree," says Holmwood.

Several major factors supported Douglas College's efforts to gain approval for the degree. These included: new government requirements that entry-level nurses have a degree, government commitment to provide funding for all nursing students to complete the degree, and new legislation allowing colleges to offer selected baccalaureate degrees that lead directly to jobs.

The new degree means new resources, new facilities and a new building, says Holmwood.

"The program will be expanding from the current 350 students to 540 students. We will graduate 60 students twice a year beginning in December, 2006," says Holmwood. "This will require hiring more faculty, adding new learning lab space, and increasing our library budget for books and journals that will be needed for senior semesters.

"We are also planning a new building dedicated to the Faculty of Health Sciences at our David Lam Campus in Coquitlam, which we hope to have open in 2007-2008. It will be designed to provide students access to state-of-the art equipment and educational technology," says Holmwood.

The David Lam Campus currently houses the Dispensing Optician Program, part of the Faculty of Health Sciences. When the expansion is complete, all the College's other Health Science programs would move from New Westminster to Coquitlam. Those programs are Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing, Dental Assisting, Health Information Services, Home Support/Resident Care Attendant and Community Health Worker, as well as the offices for all health and perinatal continuing education.

For students, the new program will include a greater variety in clinical placements that provide workplace experience.

"There will be a wider range of clinical placements that reflect the practice experiences students must obtain to meet the requirements for licensure as a Registered Nurse," says Holmwood. "Currently, most of the practice placements are in hospital settings, but now more students will be out with community agencies, individuals and families."

In the classroom, the Douglas College program will feature the same courses and standards as the majority of other nursing programs across the province.

"This will be exactly the same degree in nursing as offered at nine other institutions in B.C.," says Holmwood. "The quality will be high and students will be able to obtain a degree without having to transfer part way through the program to a university college or university. The standard level of college tuition will apply to the degree students."

Nursing at Douglas College has intakes of new students every September and January. The program is popular and has long wait-lists for spaces. For more information visit the Douglas College Web site at www.douglas.bc.ca.

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