College ha with nursin rogram Students embrace studi MORE THAN halfway through their program at Northwest Community College, no licensed prac- tical nursing students have dropped out. It's a surprising statistic for any academic program and more so for this one. The course is 12 months long, began in January and so far, the 26 students have had just two, one- week time off segments. “We anticipate a 10 to 15 per cent attrition rate in any program. The strength and the quality of the stu- dents is outstanding,” said Denine Marasco, the col- lege dean ia charge of health programs, last week. Students in the program will be able to start prac- tising nursing when their program ends on Jan. 3, said nursing program coor- dinalor Michele Nehring.. They get an interim li- cence for three months on that date even though they don’t take their exams until Jan, 15, she said. The introduction of the program through the finan- cial support of the provin- cial government is part of a larger effort to train more medical professionals throughout the province. It’s important for the northwest because of the difficulty in finding medi- cal professionals to move here. The premise is that people from the north who are trained in the north will stay in the north. So far the students have completed the academic portion and practicums in communily health and in gerontology. They’re now in the acute care portion of the program and will follow that up with practicums in area hospitals. “We're getting very good co-operation,” said Marasco of contact with area health -care institu: tions. ' Beds in a simulated ” ward at the college are on a Th THEY CALL him ‘George’ or ‘Mr. O' and he’s one _ of the mannequins used in the licensed practical nursing pragram at Northwest Community College. e Terrace Standard, Wednesday, September 18, 2002 - A3 Se News In Brief Bus battle brewing A HANDFUL of Meziadin Lake students are wail- ing to hear if the school bus that takes them to Stewart will be cancelled at the end of the month. The Coast Mountains School District postponed a decision to cancel the bus run until Sept. 30, in case more student riders show up. Just two students have been riding the bus into Stewart since school began two weeks Ago, § school district official Robert Gilfillan said. °° Two other Meziadin students are enrolled i in cor- respondence schoo] because of the uncertainty hanging over the bus run. The school board warned parents last spring the bus min might be cancelled this fall to save money. School districts aren't required to provide a bus run for communities with less than eight students. The run between Meziadin Lake and Stewart, costs the district about $126,000 a year to operate. Stewart trustee Les Deacon Rogers urged the board to reconsider cancelling the run prematurely. He said renewed economic activity, including a potential buyer for the Buffalo Head forest license, may result in as many as 50 families moving to the Meziadin area in the new year. Students Darcie Wiley and Tony Poole are shown here practising changing a dressing. The program has a lab set up in the form of a hospital ward. loan from Mills Memorial Hospital and heallh’ care ‘Officials have been provi- ‘ding advice. And while the students are deep in their studies, so is the college. The core of the curricu- “Jum was provided by other community colleges and the college is preparing to have the program evalua- ted by the B.C. College of Licensed Practical Nurses, which licences all practi- cal nurses, for stand-alone accreditation. The college will offer the program again, but not until September 2003, said Marasco. “We want to follow our process through with the college of licensed practi- cal nurses,” she explained. A September start date will also align the program with the traditional start date for other college pro- grams and it will give ap- plicants an opportunity to. stake any required prelimi: ' “nary courses.“ { The college views the licensed practical nursing program as a midpoint in its health training offer- ings. _ It already offers a se- ven-month home care support/resident care train- ing program which rotates : throughout the region. And it is in exploratory talks with the University of Norther British Columbia to develop courses so stu- dents can proceed to a Ba- chelor of Science in Nur- sing degree at the latter institution, said Marasco. When students aren’t in the field, they spend six Four-day SCHOOL administrators are being asked what they think of moving to a four- day week next year. Assistant superintendent Sharon Beedle said a draft proposal that loaks at the benefits of a four day week _is.now. being cireul, ted. for review.” 2 halo final i béeh’ made, *Beédle’ said. Trustees have not vet THE REAL ESTATE FOUNDATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Columbia. communities, Since 1988, the Real Estate Foundation has provided $26 million in grants for responsible land use initiatives throughout British We work with non-profit partners in housing, environmental stewardship, and continuing education for real estate professionals to improve the quality of life in B.C, The funds for the Foundation’s work come from interest accrued on unassigned deposits held in real estate agents’ pooled trust accounts and the Foundation’s prudent The mission of the Real Estate Foundation is to use its resources for the benefit of British Columbians by supporting efforts that improve all aspects of land use and real estate practices, hours a day in the class- room. That’s followed up by an average three hours a day of homework. Tony Poole of Terrace has a Level IH first aid certificate and says being a nurse means he can stay in the northwest and help people. Poole is one of five males in the program. Jennifer Owens, also from Terrace, has first aid training and is a volunteer firefighter. “The majority of us want to stay in the north if there’s jobs available,” ‘she says. Tuition is pricey at nearly $2,000 for the year and books cost an addi- tional $1,000. With supplies and uni- forms, students place the cost at $5,000, not includ- ing living expenses. For some students, such as Darcie Wiley from Ha- zelton, those living costs include maintaining a resi- dence in Terrace and one back home. school week eyed looked at the document. A four-day school week could reduce busing, util- ity, janitorial and other costs by 20 per cent, the Aug, 6 document suggests. A possible timeline would see consultation and planning..take. place .this, Year, with. impiementation. takingg¢place in’ Sept. ¢ 2003; Beedle. said ° ‘she ‘wrdte the document in response to an education committee recommendation calling for the creation of a com- - mittee to study a four-day week as a way to save money in the cash-strap- ped district. Board officals are now warning the district could be closing in on.as much asa $5 milion ‘deficit next ydar ‘due to’ declining en- rolment and other factors. Beedle retires THE COAST Mountains School District is losing one of its most experienced administrators. Sharon Beedle has decided to retire after 25 years as an instructor and then administrator in public education. Beedle, 55, is the district’s assistant superinten- dent of curriculum and instruction, and First Na- tions education. She held the top job in the Kitimat school district when it was amalgamated with the school district 88. She also held the position of acting superinten- dent for a number of months after former superin- tendent Frank Hamilton retired. He was eventually replaced by Herb Fader, who held the job for less than a year before resigning for medical reasons. Beedle’s last day on the job is Oct. 22, and her tetirement is effective in March 2003 because of her accumulated vacation time. The board accepted her resignation Sept. 11. Phone store closes THE TELUS store in Terrace will officially shut its doors next week. The Sept. 27 closure comes as the phone compa- ny’s plan to slash its workforce by 40 per cent of its workforce begins to take effect. About one third of Terrace’s 57 Telus employees will be eliminated by next year under the compa- ny's restructuring plan. “There will be 25 ta 27 affected by our opera- tional efficiency program,” said company spokes- person Joanna Wyatt. 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