BScN Collaborative Program nursing students in the simulation lab
No one could have predicted that a conversation between two nursing colleagues in 1987 on the topic of collaboration could revolutionize nursing education in Canada.
But it did. Four years and thousands of hours of planning later, 184 students enrolled in the inaugural collaborative nursing program-the first of its kind in the country.
Developed to replace existing nursing diploma and degree programs, the four-year program was considered highly innovative.
"At the time, collaboration between universities and colleges was a new phenomenon," says Dean Anita Molzahn. "Even though it's something we now take for granted, collaborative education was a big innovation and highly significant to nursing history in Canada. It facilitated baccalaureate education as the entry to the practice of nursing, and made degree level education available for all new graduates of nursing programs. It's now emulated across the country."
Working together towards a common goal
In the late 1980s, nursing leaders in Alberta sought ways to improve access to baccalaureate education. This was meant as a first step towards requiring a baccalaureate degree for entry to practice. Marilynn Wood, then Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, and Irene Gataint, chairperson of the Red Deer College Nursing Program, quickly decided that collaboration was the answer.
"They shared a vision of nursing education that challenged the status quo in both nursing and post-secondary education in our province," says Linda Moore Martin, Dean of the School of Health Sciences at Red Deer College.
It was a vision embraced by local nursing educators-collaboration really was key to increasing the number of baccalaureate prepared nurses.
"By uniting people, programs and possibilities, this innovative delivery model of nursing education in Alberta has been internationally recognized and remains a critical part of nursing education history." - Christy Raymond-Seniuk
A task force with representatives from the University of Alberta, Red Deer College, Grant MacEwan Community College, Misericordia Hospital School of Nursing, Royal Alexandra Hospital School of Nursing and University of Alberta Hospital School of Nursing, was formed to explore the development of collaborative models for the education of new nurses.
The outcome of their deliberations was a new four year baccalaureate curriculum in which the first two years would be delivered by the hospital schools of nursing and Grant MacEwan Community College, and the last two years would be delivered by the Faculty of Nursing. At Red Deer College, all four years of the curriculum were to be delivered on site. However, students would register with the University of Alberta for the final two years.
Four years after its launch, major changes occurred with the collaborative partners. Hospital-based nursing schools closed their doors leaving Grant MacEwan Community College and the Faculty of Nursing as the only Edmonton-based partners.
During that year, the collaborative nursing program grew when two additional collaborative BScN programs were implemented with Grande Prairie Regional College in Grande Prairie and Keyano College in Fort McMurray. These programs, like the one at Red Deer College, allowed students to complete a four-year BScN program in their home communities.
25 years and 8,000+ BScN degrees later
The collaborative nursing program is still going strong-nearly 8,200 students have graduated from the program since 1991 and today there are 996 students enrolled.
Although Grant MacEwan Community College left the collaborative partnership when it began delivering its own four year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program in 2007, Christy Raymond-Seniuk, acting Associate Dean of the Faculty of Health and Community Studies, can still see the program's lasting effects.
"This collaboration offered us immense opportunity to engage in a large scale professional development and curriculum implementation, that's not possible as an individual program," she says. "The richness of combining faculty expertise and our shared passion for nursing education was a highlight of this relationship, as were the many lasting connections that have endured to today."
While operating a collaborative nursing program may seem routine now, the idea of collaboration was nearly unheard of 30 years ago, but all it took was a conversation between colleagues to start the transformation of nursing education in Canada.
With files from Barbara Gibson.