Nursing program’s future worries students

MONCTON – Changes coming to the University of New Brunswick’s Nursing Program has Moncton nursing students worried.

As of September, there could be no new admissions to UNB’s four-year nursing program in Moncton.

The faculty’s dean Gail Storr told Global News Thursday that the University is adjusting numbers to meet earlier levels.

“Whenever you make a change, there are people who love it and people who hate it. And when people find out that what you’re doing is really going to be better serving the needs of each student population, it will settle down,” she said.

But Moncton-East MLA Chris Collins says the program is vital to the hub city.

“This closure would leave Moncton with a serious lack of publicly-funded English-language post-secondary programs,” Collins said in a statement.

Collins did say he’s happy an advanced-standing program would be moved to the Moncton campus, but he believes more work should be done to save Moncton’s four-year program.

Storr says change is necessary.

“This takes us another step and we’re saying we’re developing a focus of excellence in terms of undergraduate. And these are nurses who will be practice ready in two years from the time they start their education instead of four years,” she said.

At the Moncton campus, students like Robin Simpson say they don’t want the program to change.

“I really wish it would stay the way it is,” she said. “It really is such a great program and all the teachers here are wonderful.”

Simpson said she also saves money by studying in her hometown.

“It was more cost-effective for me, I can live at home and its much nicer to be around family too,” she said. “You get that extra support system.”

UNB has other nursing faculties in Fredericton and Saint John.

But Moncton students would like to see their program left alone. They say with class sizes of around 40 people, it’s helped to better prepare them for entering the work force.

“Its a wonderful program. It’s small so you get the attention that you need and the teachers really care about us,” said student Olivia Charters.