Well educated registered nurses save lives
(Ottawa, November 20, 2013) Rethinking the education of tomorrow’s nurses is crucial inlight of the increasing healthcare demands of the population with the rising rate of multiple, complex chronic illnesses and emerging new healthcare concerns. Nursing education leaders from across Canada are meeting in Ottawa this week to engage in planning for the next generation of registered nurses.
According to the President of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), Dr. Linda Ferguson, “Canada’s nursing education is recognized internationally for its excellence. Well prepared generalist registered nurses save lives and contribute to better health and the well being of Canadians”. Schools of nursing prepare graduate Registered Nurses who have the knowledge, skills, and abilities to better meet the needs of Canadians and to contribute in reforming the healthcare system.
Currently, nursing graduates monitor and manage the care of patients/clients experiencing complex and unstable health conditions inboth acute and community settings. Graduates are also prepared to improve the health and well being of Canadians, address health issues related to social inequity, and to work with under served populations. And while Registered Nurses make a unique contributionto patient centred, interprofessional health care, they are facing new challenges as the burden of chronic disease and the ageing population overwhelm health services across the country. Canadian health outcomes are not keeping up with other countries in the developed world.
At the Ottawa meeting of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing, more than a hundred nurses from Whitehorse, Yukon to St-Johns, Newfoundland heard that the major challenges to preparing new registered nurses to meet the current complex needs of Canadians are: 1) preserving the depth and breadth of generalist preparation required to support the development of safe, competent nursing practice in our highly complex health care system, and 2) partnering with the service sector to integrate new nurses into the health system and continue their professional development.
The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) is the voice of nursing education in Canada. Nursing education is an innovative and evolving system integrating cutting edge knowledge, research and technologies. CASN is committed to the progressive evolution of nursing education in support of the health of Canadians.
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For more information or to speak to a CASN spokesperson contact:
Dr. Cynthia Baker, RN, PhD
Executive Director
Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
Dr. Linda Ferguson, RN, PhD
President
Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing
pres@casn.ca
