August 22, 2006 Source: :
http://www.brandonu.ca/news/article.asp?A_ID=1073 Brandon University to open new Winnipeg site for Psychiatric Nursing program WINNIPEG, MB – On Monday, August 28, Brandon University invites you to attend the grand opening of a new facility for its Psychiatric Nursing program in downtown Winnipeg. The open house will celebrate the new and expanded home of the Winnipeg site for Psychiatric Nursing baccalaureate education, and will include opportunities to tour the new facilities, view program presentations, and meet faculty and students. The celebration begins at 1:00 p.m. in the new facility, located in Room B105 on the lower level of the Rice Financial Building, located at 491 Portage Avenue. A ribbon cutting ceremony will take place at 2:00 p.m. A special video conference will allow BU staff to participate in the ribbon cutting from the BU campus. The video conference will begin at 1:30 p.m. in Room 045, on the lower level of the BU Health Studies Building. "For students and faculty, this 8000 square foot space provides a home for the program, making it easier for students to have face-to-face contact with faculty members and with one another," says Dean of the Brandon University School of Health Studies Linda Ross. " This new site will make it possible to accept 40 students per year in Winnipeg in the Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing program, compared to the 20 new students per year that we were previously able to accommodate. This will have a significant impact on filling Psychiatric Nursing vacancies in the province." The Baccalaureate Psychiatric Nursing program is delivered by Brandon University in Winnipeg in collaboration with the University of Winnipeg. The new space in the Rice Financial Building will enable the entire program to be housed under one roof while still providing easy access to support courses on the U of W campus. The new site’s facilities include two large classrooms, a counseling and adjoining observation room, a nursing skills lab, a computer lab, and faculty offices. The funding provided by COPSE for this expansion is being phased in over a three-year period increasing the number of faculty from three to eight. The number of students in Winnipeg across the four years of the program will increase from 80 to 160. Psychiatric nursing is concerned with the health, especially the mental health, of individuals, families, groups and communities. Psychiatric nurses engage in therapeutic interactions with people to promote, maintain and restore health. They are concerned with those affected by psychiatric illness and developmental challenges, and with the influence of society on the mental health of people. There is a serious shortage of psychiatric nurses in Manitoba now and new employment opportunities continue to emerge. The School of Health Studies at Brandon University offers a four-year program leading to a Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing (B.Sc.P.N.). The program combines psychiatric nursing education with studies in Arts, Sciences and Humanities. Graduates of the program are eligible to write the qualifying examinations for licensure as a Registered Psychiatric Nurse (R.P.N.) with the College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of Manitoba (CRPNM). For more information, please contact: Kelly Stifora
Communications Officer
Brandon University
Phone: (204) 727-9762
Email: stiforak@brandonu.ca - 30 -
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