Newsletter 32, Summer 2010
A message from the President (Summary of the Report to the Annual General Meeting, May 20, 2010
I would like to acknowledge the support from the Executive and the school representatives of the ARCASN’s executive committee, as well as the general membership. The purpose of the ARCASN is to provide an organized body to promote the advancement of nursing and research education in the schools of nursing in the four Atlantic Provinces, and to cooperate with the other Regions in meeting the objective of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN). The ARCASN’s executive met twice since the 2009 Annual General Meeting held May 5 at Hôtel Beauséjour, Moncton, New Brunswick. A day meeting was held at St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, September 25, 2009, and a teleconference meeting was held February 16, 2010. Over the past year, the ARCASN executive has worked hard to increase ARCASN’s profile with several members sitting on national task forces. This past year ARCASN’s executive has continued to pursue the activities outline in our strategic plan. We continue to meet our mission and reflect the changing needs in our region. Those documents are available on the Website.
The ARCASN continues to improve the Website in both languages, French and English. Pertinent information and documents are available on the Website. The Constitution and Bylaw documents have been translated into French and they will be available on the ARCASN’s website in June 2010.
During the year 2009-2010, the ARCASN’s president, in collaboration with executive committee members, has worked on the following items:
1. Discussions about our working document Issues Facing Nurse Educators and Students in Atlantic Canada. During the year 2009-2010, the ARCASN executive has discussed the main issues/concerns facing nurse educators in the Atlantic Region, such as the shortage and retention of experienced nurse educators; the increased costs associated with student rural placements; need for research in Nursing Education in the Atlantic region; lack of adequate funding for PhD education.
2. ARCASN’s president participated at the CASN Board of Directors, held November 14 and 15, 2009, at Lac Lemay, Gatineau, Québec. The White Paper Consultation process is nearing completion with the final draft expected in May 2010. Evelyn Kennedy, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the Cape Breton University Nursing, Sydney, Nova Scotia was elected to be the new board member for the Atlantic Region.
3. Active participation from ARCASN executive members for the 2010 Nursing Research Conference planning. This year the theme is “Innovations and Strategies in Nursing Education”, held at the Centre for Nursing Studies, St. John’s, Newfoundland.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Deans and Directors for their ongoing support of ARCASN and its activities. A very special thanks to every nursing educator for your support and your precious help and collaboration in preparing nurses with the quality needed for our practice colleagues.
Respectfully submitted, Danielle Charron, ARCASN President (2008-2010).
Members - ARCASN Constitution - Article III
Any Atlantic School of Nursing faculty member whose institution is a member of the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN/ACESI) may be a member upon payment of the current fee.
Associate Membership - Any individual who has been a faculty member of a School of Nursing may apply for associate membership. Any student enrolled full-time or part-time in a graduate program in nursing in the Atlantic Region may apply for associate membership. Associate members may attend meetings but have no voting privileges.
ARCASN membership year is July 1 to June 30.
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At the 2007 ARCASN meeting it was decided that there would be an annual newsletter.
The Constitution and Bylaws, along with other News, are displayed on the web site, www.arcasn.ca
ARCASN/ACENRA Council, 2009/2010
President: Danielle Charron (UdeM) Pres/Elect: Criena Twomey (MUN)
Secretary: Doreen Dawe (MUN) Treasurer: Rinette Côté (UdeM)
Representatives: Brenda Tobin (CNS) Debbie Sheppard-Lemoine (Dal)
Doreen Westera (MUN) Donna Beiswanger (ST.FX)
Jill MacMullen (CBU) Diane Morin (UdeM)
Donna Bulman (UNBF) Christina Faye Murray (UPEI)
Glenda Cunning (WRSN) Pam Pastinick (UNBSJ)
Newsletter Editor: Pearl Herbert (MUN)
Committees - Article VI
The Region may by bylaw, establish, and regulate such standing committees as are appropriate to advance the purpose of the Region. The Chair of such Standing Committees shall be appointed by the Executive Committee for a two-year term. The Executive Committee shall have power to remove such Chair and to fill vacancies in such office. The Region or the Executive Committee by resolution may establish, and regulate such special committees as from time to time are appropriate to advance the purpose of the Region.
ARCASN Education Committee Annual Report 2008-2009. Chairperson: Marilyn MacDonald, (Dal).
The eight members of the committee met twice times via teleconference.
Revisions were made to the Terms of Reference last year and approved at the 2009 AGM. The committee reviewed and confirmed the currency of the terms.
Educational Development Fund Poster was reviewed by the committee and made one edit to clarify that only ARCASN members are eligible to apply to the fund. Committee members confirmed that the present funding designations are appropriate with priority being given to development or implementation of an innovative teaching strategy, and secondarily the funding can be awarded to support travel or expenses related to attending educational conferences. The committee also noted some rise in requests for conference attendance and travel and is proposing at the ARCASN meeting that ARCASN consider adding a $500 award to the education fund uniquely for this.
Evaluation Criteria Form Education Review Committee recommends that we circulate the criteria each year when the posters advertising the award are circulated.
Awards 2010. The committee received five applications this year. One application was disqualified (request was for coverage of student expenses). The successful applicants were:
Doreen Westera (MUN) To Develop a Toolkit to enable Nursing Faculty to Integrate the Spiritual Dimension of Nursing Practice into Curriculum in Nursing Programs, and
Glenda Cunning & Peggy Colbourne (WRSN) to disseminate their work on developing A Virtual Clinical Excursion for pediatric clinical experiences.
Marilyn Macdonald is completing her term as chair and member of the committee. The incoming Dalhousie committee representative will be Andrea Chircop. It is understood that the selection of the incoming chair can be made as by ARCASN Constitution - Article VI. In the past we have not appointed a Chair but left it to the committees themselves.
ARCASN Research Committee Annual Report 2008-2009. Chairperson: Ann Rhéaume (UdeM)
The eight members of the research committee met in early May to review the proposals submitted for the ARCASN seed grants. Committee members reviewed five proposals. The following two applicants will be funded:
Vicki Earle (CNS) Title of project: The Preceptorship Experience in the Intergenerational Context and Shelley Doucet (UNB) Title of project: Postpartum Psychosis: Support Needs of Mothers and Fathers.
The committee members briefly reviewed their mandate and agreed that the committee was functioning well.
Nominations for Life Members and Honorary Members
Criteria for a life member are: a former member of ARCASN, recommended by the Executive Committee for distinguished service or valuable assistance to the Association over time (ARCASN Constitution, Article III). Retiring or resigning from a school of nursing after long standing membership. Nominees should have more than one of the following: long-standing membership, held executive positions, held committee positions, or made other significant contribution(s). This honour is not intended for every retiring faculty member. Life members may attend meetings but have no voting privileges. Nominations, showing that the criteria have been met, should be signed by two persons and submitted to the ARCASN President in the Winter Semester.
Criteria for an honorary member are: a person, who was not a former member of ARCASN, retiring or resigning from a position, in or associated with the Nursing Profession. Recommended by the Executive for distinguished service or valuable assistance to Nursing in the Atlantic region over time. This honour is not intended for everyone retiring/resigning from a nursing/associated position. Honorary members may attend meetings but have no voting privileges. Nominations, showing that the criteria have been met, should be signed by two persons and submitted to the ARCASN President in the Winter Semester.
Life Members who have been honoured for their contributions to ARCASN:
Electa MacLennan (Dal) 1971
Elizabeth Summers (MUN) 1981
Margaret Bradley (Dal) 1985
Dorothy Wiswall (Dal) 1985
Margaret McLachlan (UNB) 1986
Ruby Dewling (MUN) 1987
Joan Mills (SFX) 1989
Shirley McLeod (UNB) 1990
Hope Toumishey (MUN) 1990
Shirley Alcoe (UNB) 1991
Huberte Poirier (UdM) 1992
June Agnew (MUN) 1993
Frances Pynn Gabriel (UNB) 1996
Elizabeth Lambie (Dal) 1996
Purnima Sen (MUN) 1996
Dorothy Wasson (UNB) 1997
Heather Fraser-Davey (Dal) 1997
Pearl Herbert (MUN) 1997
Carol Brehaut (UPEI) 1998
Margaret Munro (UPEI) 1998
Marilyn Marsh (MUN) 1998
Margaret Arklie (Dal) 1999
Penny Ericson (UNB) 2001
Jeannette Walsh (MUN) 2001
Saru Sony (SFX) 2001
Sr Loretta Gillis, (SFX) 2002
Kay Matthews (MUN) 2002
Violeta Ribeiro (MUN) 2003
Patricia Davidson (UNB) 2004
Maureen Laryea (MUN) 2005
Sylvia Poirier (UPEI) 2006
Honorary Members honoured for distinguished service or valuable assistance to the region:
Vera Deware (PEI) 2001 Janet Story (NL) 2002
News in Brief
Cape Breton University. A 4-year BScN program is offered within the School of Education, Health & Wellness. There are currently 24 members within the Nursing Department comprised of faculty, nursing practice educators and program support. For the past year there have been 231 students enrolled in the BScN program and 48 graduated in May. There are 46 students participating in the Co-Op Program in 2010. The nursing society has been busy with fundraising activities. The first independent Accreditation and Approval Review for the Nursing Department has been completed. It was a tremendous amount of work for the entire department and the actual visit and discussions with CASN and CRNNS reviewers were a very positive experience from our perspective. A site license was purchased from Unbound Medicine for the use of their electronic resource, “Nursing Central”. Students and faculty now have access to Davis’s Drug Guide, Davis’s Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests, Diseases and Disorders, Medline Journals and Taber’s Cyclopedia Medical Dictionary on their PC’s. The resource was then downloaded to Touch Ipods or other comparable devices for NPEs and students to use in the nursing practice setting. Sheila Profit was in Zambia for two weeks as part of a CIDA funded project, between Cape Breton University and Zambian partners that aims to raise awareness of connections between the environment and the health of people. Brenda Jacono is Chair of the CASN Task Force on Palliative and End of Life Care and a set of competencies have been developed. There have been extensive consultations and the document is on the CASN website. Corrine MacIsaac has been working on two projects and reports for CBU. The first is Retainment and Recruitment of Aboriginal Students and the second is Future Models of Nursing. Corrine also won an IT innovation award of $100,000 this year to develop a tool for Chronic Disease Management. Other faculty members are occupied with PhD studies and writing for publication.
Centre for Nursing Studies. This past year the CNS offered the BN Collaborative, LPN Bridging Option, BN NP, and Continuing Nursing Studies programs. There were 487 students in the BN (Collaborative) Program and 102 graduated in May 2010. Eleven students who were successful in the first offering of the LPN Bridging option, which recognizes prior nursing knowledge and clinical experience, were admitted into the second year of the BN (Collaborative) Program. The first graduates of the BN NP Program will graduate in the fall 2010. The BN NP program will continue until 2013. The MNPHC-NP Program will be offered in September 2011. Continuing Nursing Studies currently has 10 programs running to address provincial demands for continuing education courses for RNs and LPNs. There were a total of 597 students enrolled in these continuing education courses over this past year. The PN program has 62 students and is presently brokered in six sites across the province and Jamaica with a projected intake of approximately 150 students, and is looking at brokering the program in Dominica. The Centre has been invited by the Asian Development Bank to submit an expression of interest on a “Health Human Resources Sector Development Project” for Vietnam. The faculty has been provided with a variety of professional development opportunities in support of their ongoing interest and involvement in research through our Nursing Research Office. Faculty members are involved in research studies, writing and publishing, and chairing, planning and presenting at a number of educational conferences.
Dalhousie University. The school has been celebrating its 60th anniversary this past year with a variety of activities. In response to a request from the government, the number of seats in the basic BScN program was increased by 50 per year for four years at which time a steady state of 185 seats will be reached at the Halifax site. At the Yarmouth site, an increase of 5 seats per year for four years was requested bringing the number of seats from 25 to 30 per year. The increase at the Yarmouth site is pending final approval between Dalhousie and the government of the funding arrangements.
The program continues to receive a higher number of qualified applicants than the number of seats available. The increased enrolment is placing considerable strain on the availability of clinical placements; especially in Year 1 and 2 of the program. The cooperative nursing program between Dalhousie SON and Department of Health has 60 students placed for employment. An Internship was implemented for 10 weeks at the end of the 4th year of the program, and evaluation is very positive from both stakeholders and students. A Task Group will be making a recommendation by June 1, 2010 regarding the future of the post-RN BN program to which an average of seven students has been admitted annually. The BScN (Arctic Nursing Program) continues to attract new students. There are 20 PhD nursing students and 90 masters of nursing students. The nurse practitioner program offered at the master’s level continues to be very popular. During convocation on May 31, 2010, Dalhousie University School of Nursing will graduate the first PhD in nursing candidates. Faculty research, publications and presentations locally, nationally and internationally continue to be a strategic mandate at the school. The faculty is preparing for a combined fall, 2010 undergraduate programs accreditation by CASN and approval from the CRRNS. Dalhousie University Nursing Society is busy with many activities planned. Dalhousie Graduate Nursing Society continues to host various events, and the Rho Rho Chapter continues to remain active.
Memorial University. Last summer we welcomed Dr. Judith McFetridge-Durdle to the School of Nursing as Director.
A total of 10 undergraduate students (post RN) convocated in October 2009; a total of 49 BN students will convocate in May 2010 – 7 post RN students and 42 collaborative students. A total of 8 graduate students convocated in October 2009 and 6 will convocate in May 2010. There are 47 students in the BN fast track program. The School of Nursing received funding for expansion of the BN collaborative program, plus additional base funding. These funds will explore creative options for preparation of more nurses. A functional space analysis and a business plan are forthcoming, with a projected date of September 2010 for a functional space plan. Dr Sandra LeFort was awarded the Distinguished Career Award from the Canadian Pain society; She was also named 2008 Reviewer of the Year for the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. Dr Lan Gien was awarded the CASN Wendy McBride Excellence “Award for Accreditation Reviewer” in 2009. The faculty has been busy with research studies and writing, publishing and making films.
St Francis Xavier University. Joanne Whitty-Rogers is completing her first year as Chair, School of Nursing. Five Post Degree and 15 Accelerated Option students graduated in December 2009. In May 2010, 82 BScN students graduated (31 were post-RN students). Approximately 60 of the 92 third year students are currently enrolled in the NS DoH Co-Op program for the summer months. They are going to all the District Health Authorities (DHA) throughout NS with the only exception being DHA 2. There are six or seven students doing their Co-Op placement in long term facilities this year. A 2010-2015 Strategic Plan Overview by the School of Nursing-Academic Priorities Planning is underway. A major focus is to progress from School of Nursing to Faculty of Nursing status and are waiting the approval for this from the Senate and the President. The Aboriginal Nursing Student Seminar Option was initiated this past year as a strategy to recruit and retain Aboriginal Nursing Students. St. FXU is one of six Canadian Schools of Nursing who have been selected by the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada and CASN for the implementation of a new nursing curriculum based on cultural safety competencies. This project is made possible by $405,000 in funding from Health Canada’s Aboriginal Health Human Resources Initiative called “Making It Happen: Strengthening Aboriginal Health Human Resources.” Faculty and clinical associates had a busy year planning toward a successful accreditation in February 2010 by CASN and CRNNS. St. FXU will receive a report in July detailing the extent of the accreditation/approval. Several faculty members are engaged in exciting programs of research, publications, presentations, and other scholarly work locally, nationally, and internationally.
Université de Moncton. The nursing program is offered at Edmundston, Bathurst, and Moncton, under the responsibility of the Université de Moncton. In 2009 to 2010 there were at total of 600 BScN students at the three sites, 72 RN BScN students, 20 MScN with thesis students and 19 MScN with practice students. There are 24 professors for the three sites plus clinical instructors. Accreditation of the program by NANB, CASN, and the university, is due in 2011. The School continues to explore possibilities for third year students of the BScN program to have an international experience. This summer the camp, Health in Action, in which the nursing students are involved, will have 45 participants aged 11 to 14 divided into four groups. The faculty members from the three sites continue with research and publishing.
University of New Brunswick - Fredericton. In May 2010 there were a total of 117 BN graduates at the three sites; Fredericton, Moncton, Bathurst. The undergraduate programs are fully accredited (CASN) and approved (NANB) through to 2013. Work on the abilities and outcomes framework for undergraduate and ASP courses continues. A new course called Aboriginal Health issues was added to the nursing curriculum this year. It is a compulsory course for students entering the UNB nursing program from the Mi-Kmaq-Maliseet Institute. Other students may take it as an elective. In the graduate program - October 2009, 8 NPs and 1 thesis student graduated. May 2010, 3 nurse educators and 1 thesis student graduated. A new stream has been added to the graduate (MN) program in the form of a Nurse Educator stream. This program can be completed full-time in 16 months and part-time in 3? years. It consists of 36 credit hours. The program is currently undergoing MPHEC approval. As part of this process an external review has been carried out. Feedback was very positive. The Nurse Practitioner program was reviewed earlier this year. The program was approved with some recommendations for change including recruiting and retaining more nurse practitioners. Course Blueprints are being updated using the ‘abilities and outcomes’ framework. The faculty continues to receive grants from national and local funding agencies. Some of these agencies include CIHR, SSHRC, Medical Research Fund of New Brunswick, Atlantic Aboriginal Health Research Program, New Brunswick Innovation Foundation, Harrison McCain Foundation, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. In the past five years faculty members have continued to have a high number of refereed publications. (Approximately 146 articles). This is excluding published abstracts, book chapters, and conference proceedings.
University of New Brunswick - Saint John. Currently there are 208 BN students across all four years of the program. It is anticipated that 56 students will enter year one for the 2010-2011 year.
Faculty members have worked with UNB Fredericton to develop and implement a new abilities-based framework. Extensive curriculum revisions will continue over the next year. Two faculty members are on a committee to develop an LPN-BN bridging program in the province. Our Department recently purchased I-Pods to help students store and retrieve information in the clinical setting. Due to growing interest, several students have purchased their own devices. Third year students participated in international activities through the nursing student society. Ten students visited Tanzania for 2 weeks to deliver heath care through local programming while 2 students visited University of Tennessee at Martin for a student exchange program for one semester. Faculty members have been carrying out research and publishing articles. In October 2009, Dr. Rose McCloskey received the Governor’s General Gold Medal for Excellence in Graduate Research. In 2010 she received a research grant of $6697.92 for “Alternate Level of Care: Patient Profile and Risk Identification” from the New Brunswick Health Promotion and Research Committee(HPRC). Dr. Tracy Carr has $100,000 Canadian Health Services Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Award 2008-2010. In October 2009, Professor Cathy O’Brien-L’Arrive received the Allan P. Stewart Award for Excellence in Teaching.
University of Prince Edward Island. On May 8, 2010, 55 students graduated from the BScN program. During the 2009-2010 academic year, opportunities existed for students to participate in international clinical experiences. The UPEI School of Nursing participated in the Canada, Mexico, and United States of America Student Exchange Program and this offered the nursing students an opportunity to participate in clinical experiences at various sites within Mexico, Iowa, and Missouri. During the Winter 2010 semester, four, fourth year students went to Kenya as part of their final nursing clinical focus course. CIDA funding has been secured and there will be another opportunity for three to four nursing third or fourth year students to participate in a clinical practice experience in Kenya this summer. In 2009, the UPEI School of Nursing launched an Accelerated BScN program. This twenty three months, program has a maximum enrollment of 14 students per year and commences each January. Currently there are 26 students enrolled in the program. This year a critical care nursing program for practicing Registered Nurses on Prince Edward Island commenced. This program, sponsored by the PEI Department of Health, PEI Nurses Union and the UPEI School of Nursing has graduated 16 students to date. The proposal for a Master of Nursing program to offer both a thesis and nurse practitioner stream is currently in its final review by MPHEC. Simulation has been introduced as a means to support student learning in the lab. Simulation was used to reinforce content specific to medical/surgical courses, and was extremely well received by both students and faculty. Plans are to continue using simulation to support student learning and offer more opportunities for it to be incorporated into other nursing courses in the future. On April 28, 2010, the UPEI School of Nursing in partnership with Prince County Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and HH Nursing Departments, hosted a Nursing Research Day. This day focused on how research can be applied to the clinical practice setting. It was attended by practicing nurses employed across Prince Edward Island as well as nursing faculty from UPEI. Faculty members have been carrying out research, writing and publishing in various journals.
Western Regional School of Nursing. A four-year BN program is offered in collaboration with our partners Memorial University of Newfoundland School of Nursing (MUNSON) and the Centre for Nursing Studies (CNS). Students complete their non-nursing courses at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College (a campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland.) In fall 2009 there were 60 new admissions to the generic BN collaborative program and eight fast track admissions. Forty-eight students graduated from the generic BN collaborative program in 2009. Seven students graduated from the BN Fast Track Program in 2009. The school continues to collaborate with the Centre for Collaborative Health Professional Education at MUN, for the development and delivery of Inter-professional Education modules. There are 18 permanent full-time faculty members (which includes three administrators), one permanent part time faculty, two permanent full-time clinical/lab instructor and at present six temporary clinical/lab instructors. Scholarship activities follow Boyer’s Model. An example of a scholarly activity is the "Evaluation of Total Patient Care Nursing Model of Care" project. Another example is “An Evaluation of the Protective Community Residences.” Faculty is continuing to write, publish, and present scholarly works at regional, national and international conferences. Examples of published articles this year include: “From sea to shining sea: making collaborative rural research work”, “A Risk Assessment Screening Tool for Community Health Care Workers”, "Integrated Nursing Access Program: An Approach to Prepare Aboriginal Students for Nursing Careers." Faculty continues to be involved in various school and community committees involving clients’ across the lifespan. Administration and faculty continue to work on committees that will see WRSON come under the administrative governance of MUN.
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