Following a number of years with good but less-than-ideal facilities, the Faculty of Nursing now has a state-of-the-art dedicated facility in Camrose for the After Degree Program offered there.
When the first cohort of students began in May, 2006, teaching facilities included classroom and skills lab space leased by the University of Alberta at the Camrose Regional Exhibition building, and also Augustana classroom and office space on the 2nd floor of what was, at the time, referred to as the Community Education Building (now the Husfloen Centre).
The new facilities, which we began using in September, 2010, include smart classrooms, a state-of-the-art high-fidelity simulation suite, a nursing skills lab equipped with medium fidelity simulation and a patient care-ready environment modelled after what students experience in a hospital facility.
According to Dean Anita Molzahn, creating a permanent dedicated space for the program in Camrose is an example of the Faculty of Nursing’s commitment to being part of a community that has welcomed our students and instructors. “Our After Degree nursing program has forged some interesting relationships that are characteristic of a rural setting. Some examples are that the local Hutterite community manufactures their nursing scrubs, snow cleaning has been generously done by anonymous passers-by, and seniors in a local retirement residence have stepped up to be assessed by our nursing students in their NURS 304 course, because they believe it is the duty of these seniors to educate the younger generation.”
The Camrose After Degree Nursing program was developed to supply well-qualified, degree-prepared registered nurses to meet the nursing resource requirements of eastern and central Alberta. Local institutions and health authorities have also been strong partners in the education of, to date, 61 students, many of whom have remained in rural settings following completion of the program. “We have been fortunate to have strong clinical partnerships with the then East Central Health Region, and David Thompson Health Region (both are now part of the Central Zone of Alberta Health Services) and with Covenant Health (St. Mary’s Hospital in Camrose),” says Molzahn. “We have also linked with First Nations Inuit Health Branch of Health Canada for clinical placements in aboriginal communities.”
Augustana Faculty has also been an integral partner, assisting with education space, library and bookstore services, residence services, support courses, personnel support, student services, IT services, access to recreation and sports facilities for the nursing students.