The Honourable Jeffrey E. Lantz, Minister of Education, the Honourable Jamie Ballem, Minister of Health and Social Services and Wade MacLauchlan, President of the University of Prince Edward Island today announced the creation of 14 new seats at the UPEI School of Nursing this fall. The expansion will bring the total number of seats to 59, an increase of 31 percent.
Minister Ballem advised that when the program is fully implemented in four years time, there will be a total of 56 additional places in the UPEI School of Nursing. "The increased enrollment responds to projected needs for more nurses and interest in the Bachelor Degree in Nursing program," said Minister Ballem. "The additional nursing seats, along with our strategies to keep Island nursing graduates in the province will help to ensure that Islanders have access to an adequate supply of nurses and continued high quality health care."
Minister Lantz said this announcement reflects government's commitment to be responsive to education demands in the province. The new nursing seats not only provide learning opportunities, but also link learning to existing and future employment opportunities in Prince Edward Island.
"The Department of Education is pleased to work with our partners at the Department of Health and Social Services and the University of Prince Edward Island," said Minister Lantz. "As educators and employers, we have a stake in the projected need for nurses in PEI. This new initiative goes a long way in addressing workforce development planning in the nursing profession. From our discussions with the university, we know there is a qualified pool of nursing applicants for these additional seats."
"Nurses play important roles in the health care system and in the community," said UPEI President Wade MacLauchlan. "The PEI Government should be commended for supporting new opportunities to study nursing on PEI. This expansion will allow the School of Nursing at UPEI to grow substantially to a total of 56 new places in the four year program, and meet the increasing demand for educated and skilled nurses."
The new funding will be used to support students through the provision of more courses, expanded lab facilities and increased library resources. Over the next four years, the university will hire new faculty, clinical instructors and a placement coordinator to organize the approximately 150 clinical placements provincially, nationally, and occasionally internationally.
Although the School of Nursing in the Dr. Steel Building will require renovations in the long term, only minor changes will be needed to support the new positions in September 2001.
The four-year plan begins in September 2001. Upon full implementation of the program, the ongoing annual cost to government to accommodate the expansion will be approximately $330,000.