THUNDER BAY — Lakehead University and Seven Generations Education Institute are partnering to deliver a nursing entry program aimed at increasing the number of Indigenous students in health disciplines.
The All Nation Nurses Entry Program will launch this fall at Lakehead's Thunder Bay campus and at SGEI's Kenora, Fort Frances and Sioux Lookout campuses via telepresence technology, an advanced form of videoconferencing.
In a news release Tuesday, they said the nine-month certificate program is designed to encourage Treaty Three members to pursue careers as registered nurses while remaining in their communities.
The program, open both to Indigenous and non-Indigenous applicants, will provide graduates with the prerequisites to enter a Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
"Travelling far away from home to complete a program like this serves as a huge barrier for our learners," said Brent Tookenay, CEO of SGEI.
"Opening doors to a rewarding career that starts in a student's own community provides opportunities they may otherwise not have pursued," Tookenay added.
The curriculum is based on Lakehead's Native Nurses Entry Program, and attempts to address Indigenous health and education inequities.
The university describes the program as a direct response to the Truth and Reconciliation commission's call for an increase in the number of Aboriginal professionals in the health-care field.
