Invest in the School
Quality Clinical Instruction
Home to the first university degree nursing program in Canada, the UBC School of
Nursing is finding and defining the leading edges of research, practice and teaching
in Canada and around the world. Faculty members share with students their passion
for discovery and their commitment to excellence in nursing practice, education
and research.
The School offers an advanced standing undergraduate degree program, a degree completion program for registered nurses, and three graduate programs – Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Doctor of Philosophy.
Each program prepares students for advanced professional practice and scholarship whether influencing the delivery and management of evidence-based practice, working in a multidisciplinary health care team or becoming a leader in the advancement of nursing as an academic discipline.
The School of Nursing has rapidly responded to the strategic directions set by the BC Government to invest in developing the nursing profession into the future. Playing an active role in setting the agenda for the BC Nursing Strategy, newly funded initiatives are providing education and support for front line unit managers, supporting Aboriginal nursing education initiatives, and integrating nurse practitioners into the health system. “By focusing on nursing education as a high priority, the provincial government is ensuring that British Columbians will continue to receive top quality nursing services well into the future,” says Sally Thorne, Director. “Introducing new nursing programs and opportunities, in active collaboration with nursing leaders in the health authorities and the universities, is the best way to provide patients with the best options for service and the entire population with the best resources for optimal health.”
Research Excellence
With the active support of its Office for Nursing Research and Teaching Scholarship,
the School is well positioned to foster collaborative partnerships between faculty
scholars, students, clinical agencies and those within the wider community who are
concerned with nursing and health research. Increasingly, the research conducted
by UBC School of Nursing members is featured in the news. Many of our faculty members
are considered leading experts and are often asked to comment on current health
issues.
The ONRTS supports the faculty by facilitating the acquisition of research and scholarly project funding in all the School’s areas of research. It also supports the pursuit and development of new scholarly activities within the School, including opportunities for students and junior faculty to share ideas and engage in dialogue within a community of established scholars. Please visit http://www.nursing.ubc.ca/Research/ for current details.
Investing in the School of Nursing’s research programs may mean endowing a research chair or professorship in a particular field of study. Supporting an outstanding scholar in this manner is an investment in the excellent mentorship that will be available to students and to the wider nursing research community. It may also mean investing in research project funding within an area of particular clinical activity. Such support helps graduate students and junior scholars begin the programs that will develop into stellar academic careers.
Enhanced Student Support
As Vancouver cements its reputation as the most desirable place in the world to
live, the challenge of student-life grows. Finances are often a concern for university
students, and the need for supplemental income can sometimes prevent them from focusing
fully on their studies. You have an opportunity to help alleviate the financial
burden of students today by donating to, or creating, a student bursary or scholarship.
Scholarships also serve as a means of recognizing students who excel in their studies or take on extra activities that in some way further the field of Nursing. Some students who have been awarded scholarships in the past have been able to pursue opportunities such as teaching the basics of infection control in rural villages in Ghana or supporting marginalized populations in a downtown eastside clinic in Vancouver through the Community Health Initiative by University Students.
For a list of some current UBC School of Nursing scholarship funds, please visit http://www.students.ubc.ca/finance/awards.cfm?page=search.
International Initiatives
In 1998 the UBC School of Nursing and the Guru Nanak College of Nursing began a
partnership with the purpose of fostering the development of nursing education,
practice and research and promoting international relations in nursing. Since its
inception, many UBC nursing undergraduate students have had the opportunity to spend
a few weeks on site in the rural Punjab, learning about hospital care under challenging
circumstances and primary health care in a developing part of the world. Students
from our sister School in India have come for similar periods of time to UBC to
learn more about how nursing has evolved into its current stature within the Canadian
health care system.
The success of this project has prompted the School to expand the opportunities for more students to have an international experience as part of their basic professional program. “Having the opportunity to go to South Africa broadened my scope and recharged my batteries to come back and do the work necessary here,” says Nashreen Dhalla. Graduating in May 2006, Nashreen has gone on to work with disadvantaged communities locally by accepting a position in the Day Health Program at the Dr. Peter Centre in Vancouver.
Modern Facilities
UBC Nursing students are exposed to excellent teachers and challenging experiences
in their clinical field work. However, with considerable strain on the modern health
care system, it is difficult to guarantee that each student will have the opportunity
to encounter the full range of clinical conditions before graduation. That’s why
the UBC School of Nursing dreams of creating the very best “virtual” learning environment
that it can imagine to provide students with full exposure to all of the situations
they may someday encounter in practice.
Currently, we have a clinical practice laboratory set up as a virtual hospital. Beyond the skills that nurses have conventionally been able to practice on equipment and dolls, we are moving into an era of genuinely simulated patients. These new “Sim Man” mannequins are fully computerized and can be programmed with a wide range of conditions, disease states and symptoms. Assessment skills are heightened by such aspects as lifelike breathing and pulses, and the computerized monitor reflects the simulated patient's responses to the interventions that the students perform. The mannequin can be programmed to respond to or generate verbal cues, creating an environment in which students can safely develop their proficiencies with these techniques before they reach actual patients. By encountering a “hands-on” experience with a wide range of conditions before they head out into hospitals, ambulatory clinics, and home care settings, our students will be prepared for optimal learning from the real world of clinical practice. The School dreams of being able to expand our very limited Sim Man lab from the current two mannequins to a full virtual hospital ward of 15 beds, and to continue to explore the possibilities for optimal skill development so that our graduates are as practice-prepared as possible by the time they graduate.
Click here to direct a donation to the School of Nursing.
If you would like detailed information on planned giving and wills, Cheryl Stevens, Associate Director, Gift & Estate Planning, Development Office, would appreciate the opportunity to discuss those options with you. Cheryl can be reached at 604-822-1232, or cheryl.stevens@ubc.ca.
Make a Donation
It is my privilege and pleasure to provide personal assistance in making a gift to the UBC School of Nursing. If you are interested in creating a bursary to help a low-income student, establishing a scholarship, funding critical research, purchasing clinical equipment or creating a special project, I would be pleased to discuss the many ways you can help the School ensure high quality education for the next generation of nurses. We are pleased to recognize the importance of your support with excellent naming opportunities for many exciting new initiatives including buildings, professorships, or scholarships. Please call me for a confidential appointment.
Kieran Murphy
Major Gifts Officer - Applied Science
Applied Science Faculty
Development Office
tel.(604)822-1234; email: kieran.murphy@ubc.ca
