Red River College Baccalaureate Nursing (BN) Grads were presented with their Nursing Pins at the Grant Memorial Church on Sept.10th, 2015. The pins mark transition from education and preparation into the profession of Nursing.

Congratulations to the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba Gold Medal Winner Candace Plett, Aboriginal Nursing Student Award Winner Jennifer Russel, and The Community Service Award winner Meagan McRae

The Faculty of Nursing would like to wish all the graduates all the best in their new beginnings in their journey of the nursing profession!

On May 6th, the RRC Nursing department hosted a diabetes panel discussion as supplemental information for students. The intention of the panel was to educate students by putting a human face to the disease, in order to improve understanding and raise awareness of the challenges diabetics face.  The panelists, consisting of both diabetics and diabetes educators, emphasized that diabetes is a serious disease that nurses need to be educated on.  The nursing students took advantage of the opportunity to ask questions and voice their comments and concerns to the panel.

Lori, a nurse manager with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority Health Sciences Centre Diabetes Research Group and current National Chair of the Diabetes Educator Section – Executive/Steering Committee Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines, emphasized that people with diabetes need support more than they need education.  She hopes students now understand that nurses should provide both and not assume that diabetics have been previously ‘taught.’

“Diabetes is a chronic disease.  People live with it every minute of every day and they need to become self-managers.” – Lori

Kelly, a CFP – Financial Planner for Goodwealth Financial – IPC Investment Corp., has been diabetic since age 9.  As an active participant in diabetes awareness and research, Kelly hopes students took away the message that diabetes is manageable with assistance, expert tutelage, and guidance.  Kelly is a strong advocate for diabetes research and believes that continued research will assist in the present and future well-being of diabetic clients.

“Feeling sorry for yourself because of diabetes is not an option.  A great attitude goes a long way in diabetes control.  Balance and control now can assist with issues related to diabetes in the future.” – Kelly

The RRC Nursing department would like to thank the panelists for sharing their knowledge and experience with our students.

The 9th Annual Partners in Education and Integration of Internationally Educated Nurses (PIE-IEN) was held in Regina on April 30th and May 1st of this year. One of the highlights at the conference was a presentation from a group of Manitoba nurses with a Red River College connection. Unit Managers Gus Castaneda and Reid Love from the Victoria General Hospital (VGH) partnered with two of their staff who had been through bridging programs here in Manitoba to present how the VGH has actively participated in the development and support of internationally educated nurses over the last 10 years.

The VGH provides clinical placements for students in the BPIEN program at RRC to complete their Level 3 Clinical Practice requirement. Shamaine Ramos, one of the presenters, completed the BPIEN program at RRC and is now a clinical facilitator on one of the units at the VGH for these students. Her husband Niko, an LPN, is a clinical facilitator at the VGH for IENs going through the LPN bridging program at Assiniboine College. The group spoke about how engaged managers can change culture and facilitate IEN acceptance and successful integration onto units and added that it can take several years for this successful integration. The strategies they shared included meeting frequently with students, providing open honest feedback, ensuring safe practice and creating a work environment that appreciates cultural diversity. Shamaine and Niko spoke about how skills learned through bridging education helped them to become active participants on their units, specifically mentioning critical thinking and clinical decision making skills, along with delegation and assertiveness.

Did You Know…

On their road to becoming a nurse in Canada, IENs may spend more than $10,000 meeting various requirements before they reach the point at which they can write the NCLEX?

Faculty’s Annual Curriculum Day was another great success!  Consisting of a couple great group activities to explore, reflex and learn what others are doing in their courses and demonstrations of the Prenatal Development Module, Portfolio use and Scholarly Writing.

Teaching Excellence Day at our Princess Campus was a great day to reflect on how to find that happy medium of stress vs work vs leisure.

The day included presentations on self care by RRC Nursing graduate Jennifer Thomas and clinical psychologist Dr. Jason Ediger. 

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion looking at different perspectives of self care.  RRC Nursing instructor Cheryl Adam shared her own personal journey, art therapist Darci Adam spoke of the therapeutic benefits of the arts, and Cole Skinner from RRC athletics introduced different recreational services available to faculty. 

The afternoon included World Café group activities where everyone joined different tables to brainstorm topics such as rest, leisure, exercise, and nutrition. 

Pat Gregory finished up the day with a presentation on CV writing.

**A Shout Out to all who helped and organized these two great days! Great Job!!**

RRC Nursing Graduates, Chantal Fortney, and April Graham talked with RRC Nursing students who were about to enter their senior practicum. They told their stories and shared the information that “they wish someone had told them” as they were embarking on the transition to senior practicum and then Registered Nurse.

From classes to Senior Practicum

They spoke of how “building a relationship with your preceptor” is fundamental and takes effort. One tip was to have a five minute debriefing at the end of each practicum shift to help define and work towards a positive working relationship. It is important to set your expectations, boundaries, and have the preceptor assess your skills. An integral piece of advice was to know your facility’s policies and standards. Learn the routines on the unit. “Think of yourself still as a student and try to absorb as much as you can. The practicum RN is there to support you.” April reflected on the first days of senior practicum, when she was still getting used to three twelve hours shifts in a row in her rural hospital setting. She said it’s a good idea to do a few “shadow” shifts and even spend some time shadowing the unit clerk to truly understand how to be efficient in the specific setting. She said in those first shifts, you are learning and transitioning into “who you are as a nurse”.

Chantal shared an experience from one of her first days on her acute medical unit, observing an overwhelming wound dressing change. Her reflection was: “I don’t know if I can do this”. Through perseverance, she later commented that during the last weeks of her 3 month practicum, she had learned to trust her gut instincts. She observed an acute situation and anticipated all of the actions the interdisciplinary team should have been taking to help the client. She found herself “thinking like a nurse”, and proud of her ability to critically analyze, and anticipate nursing implications and interventions.

A strong message to the current students was “90% of what we get tested on in the BN program, we should still do”. For example, when administering medications, don’t take them out of the packages until you get to the bedside. Safety checks are extremely important, every time you give medications.

Although you may only be at your practicum site for three months, it may be a place that you would like to work after the experience. Chantal and April emphasized taking time to build connections. They told the students to make an effort to get to know the staff and the unit manager.

They discovered more about the other disciplines on the units as well. They spoke of consulting with these disciplines to advocate for clients, and how important it was to know your scope. For example, the practicum student cannot sign off on doctor’s orders. Taking time to learn about the paper work and charting involved, was essential to becoming proficient with care.

Through sharing of stories and humour, the RRC graduates talked about adjusting to twelve hour night shifts. Their bodies had to adjust to being functional through the night, and then attempting to sleep in the day. When one works long night shifts and has children at home, those days must be organized ahead of time. Some tips when beginning a stretch of night shifts might be to stay up very late the night before, and sleep in for as long as you can, or another strategy might be to take a very long nap in the afternoon before you go into work. When sleeping after the night shift, make sure your phone is turned off, and you have no distractions.

From Senior Practicum to working as a grad nurse

As the required shifts for senior practicum come to an end, the entry to practice Registered Nurse can prepare to take the RN licensure exam. April and Chantal both agreed it is best to take your time to study for this exam. They advised buying the books, and practicing writing NCLEX style questions.

Before completing your practicum shifts, ask your manager if they could be a reference for you if needed in the future. They spoke of preparing for interview questions that that might arise during the job search process.

Having experience with twelve hour shift work, the former RRC students fully understand the importance of self care. They recommended going through your MARRs at the end of each shift to ensure everything is documented, and how it’s often important to separate work and personal life.

They said once you are hired somewhere, even if it’s the same place as your practicum experience, take a full orientation. It is important to learn the role in which you will be working from the perspective of new employee and not only a student.

April and Chantal shared some challenges, such as learning to delegate as a nurse, and consulting with doctors to advocate for your patients. They shared how important it is to continually develop tools to maintain organization such as worksheets and having the equipment you need in the pockets of your uniforms.

The Students entering their senior practicum valued the information provided by Chantal and April. Thank you to these two graduates of the RRC BN Nursing program for taking the time to share their experiences, and advice.

Nursing Week was celebrated at Red River College on May 15th with a successful hallway display and pizza lunch fundraiser.

RRC’s Health Centre, speaks to group of students

Nursing instructors, students and other departments collaborated to display information related to the field of nursing.

Relational Inquiry in Family Nursing

A big thank you to all who participated to make this annual event a success!

RRC Bookstore had a sale of Nursing merchandise

Red River College Nursing Department represented its programs at this year’s Rotary Career Symposium, located at the RBC Convention Centre.

The booth was visited by many high school students from all over the province, and the general public, seeking information that the Red River College programs have to offer.

For more Information about the various RRC Nursing/Health Sciences programs visit:
RRC Nursing Programs

Come Celebrate Nursing Week

with RRC’s Nursing Faculty

and Students!

May 15th in the Library Hallway

Pizza Lunch Fundraiser

From 1145 to 1300

Please join 3rd year Nursing students for a Health Fair as they share information on various health topics. Their posters will be on display on Wednesday, May 13th, 2015 from 12:30 to 2:30pm in the Library Hallway at Notre Dame Campus. Please come out and support the students’ practical learning!