Nurses to Receive Bursary Incentive
Nursing students are being given a strong incentive to stay and work in Nova Scotia after graduation, Health Minister Jamie Muir announced today.
A new bursary program, which fulfils a government commitment, could cover as much as half of a nursing student's tuition, if they agree to work in Nova Scotia upon graduating. Bursary funding will also be available to licensed practical nurses in pharmacy and refresher programs.
"We provide excellent education to our nursing students, and we need them to stay and work here, caring for Nova Scotians," said Mr. Muir. "This initiative is a wonderful example of how we can work with nursing organizations to address the nursing shortage and strengthen the nursing profession."
The bursary program is an important part of the overall provincial nursing recruitment and retention strategy currently being developed by the Department of Health's nursing policy advisor. The department has allocated $50,000 in the current budget to fund the bursaries and intends to direct $100,000 toward the program in the coming fiscal year.
This year nursing baccalaureate students can receive a total of $37,500 and licensed practical nurses can receive $12,500. During subsequent years, funding is expected to total $75,000 and $25,000 respectively.
Bursaries for baccalaureate programs will strengthen the likelihood that registered nurses will remain in the province upon graduation. The bursaries for licensed practical nursing education programs will assist those who were previously educated to re-enter the nursing workforce, or help upgrade the skills of those currently working in the province's health care system.
Current Nova Scotia baccalaureate nursing students were consulted and helped determine bursary amounts, the selection process and the terms of the return-of-service agreement.
"The nursing bursary program is a positive move in a promising direction. We look forward to working with government in order to continue to find solutions to the nursing shortage and to improve the working conditions for graduating and experienced registered nurses," said Catherine Butler, president of the Dalhousie University Nursing Society.
Bursary applications for university students will be available through the schools of nursing next week. The application deadline is March 15 and successful applicants will be selected by March 31.
Licensed practical nurses should contact their association for information. Further information is also available through the province's nursing policy advisor, Barb Oke, at 902-424-6277.
The bursary program was developed through consultation with the province's Action Team on Nursing Education Strategies, which involved representatives of the nursing schools, Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, Nova Scotia Nurses' Union, Regional Health Boards, the IWK Grace Health Centre, the Cape Breton Healthcare Complex, the Nova Scotia Hospital, the QEII Health Sciences Centre, the Registered Nurses' Association of Nova Scotia and the Licenced Practical Nurses' Association.