Journal staff
A new standalone nursing degree offered by Lambton College is now accepting applications for September 2023.
The four-year Bachelor of Science – Nursing program will now be offered – in its entirety – at Lambton.
Previously, colleges required a university partner to offer degree-level programming, which saw students completing their final two years outside of Sarnia-Lambton.
"It's impossible to overstate how much our community will benefit from having this entire program offered at Lambton," said Silvana Macdonald, the college’s dean of the school of health, community services & creative design. "We've spent years advocating and preparing for this opportunity, and we are confident and excited in our ability to deliver the entire program."
Macdonald said the ability to offer the program locally also means significantly less cost and fewer headaches for students.
"It definitely makes our nursing degree program more attractive to students," she said. "Ultimately, it means there will be more nursing graduates to fill the demand for nurses in our area."
Lambton is already delivering most of the curriculum in the nursing degree programs, said Mary Vaughan, senior vice president, academic & student success. Students also experience hands-on learning in the form of clinical placements, as well as training in the College's Nova Chemicals Health & Research Centre, which features state-of-practice simulation labs.
“This is a big win for local students, the post-secondary system and our region's health-care system," she said. "In communities like ours, this is clearly the solution to the demand for more nurses and I am certain our team will deliver the highest quality nursing education available.”
The new program will also meet all professional standards and actively working on securing approval from the College of Nurses of Ontario.
The new program will welcome its first intake in September 2023.
To learn more, go to lambtoncollege.ca/bsnl