EDMONTON — The ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ is seeing strong results following a three-year campaign to recruit, train and graduate rural and Indigenous students, and create a pipeline of qualified nurses to work in underserved areas.
An average of 271 rural students enrolled over the past three years, and the number of Indigenous students increased by 28 per cent to 100. Opportunities to get hands-on practical training in small-town and rural hospitals increased by 32 per cent.
The focus on rural enrolment comes thanks to a to create 132 new seats for students in the Faculty of Nursing.
“We know there’s a shortage of nurses globally, but the shortage of nurses is even more dire in rural and remote places,” says nursing dean . “As a dean, an aspirational goal is to allow every student to have at least one clinical placement in a rural setting.”
“Rural nursing keeps you involved with people and the community,” says Sean Knorr, a registered nurse who worked as a student nurse in Vegreville before graduating in 2023. “It keeps you active and constantly learning. I feel fulfilled at the end of the day because I feel like I make a difference in people’s lives.”
Ninety per cent of U of A nursing students have job offers before they graduate and 100 per cent are employed within six months, most as registered nurses within ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥.
Scott says the worldwide nursing shortage is due to a including the ongoing retirement of the baby boom generation, burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic and a new generation looking for more work-life balance.
Despite that, the number of applications for the BSc program in nursing has shot up by 13 per cent since 2021-22, Scott says. Hands-on learning experiences for U of A nursing students are available in many smaller communities . “Rural nursing has a community connection you don’t get in a city hospital. You need to learn more skills, but you also get to learn more skills,” says Knorr.
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To speak with or Sean Knorr, please contact:
Debra Clark
¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ communications associate
debra.clark@ualberta.ca