News

The School of Nursing hosted an invitational think tank at the Dalhousie University Club on November 8 - 10, 2012 on future directions for undergraduate nursing education.  Responding to the Canadian Nurses' Association National Expert Commission Report A Nursing Call to Action, formal papers/presentations were invited from Dr. Barbara Mildon (President, Canadian Nurses' Association), Dr. Sarah Kagan (University of Pennsylvannia), Dr. Lianne Jeffs (Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto) and the Rev. Dr. Tom Keighley (consultant to the European Economic Union on nursing labour mobility.)  Participants included 15 representatives from service, education and policy who reviewed key papers in advance of the meeting and engaged in lively dialogue and debate about whether nursing graduates are being prepared to meet the needs of a rapidly changing health care system.  Key messages coming out of the think tank included:

• the need to develop formal, structured partnerships between service and education to address quality and relevance of clinical practica and transition to practice;
• a need for creation of an inventory of innovations in nursing pedagogy for local application and testing;
• opportunities for students to specialize in a selected area of practice while retaining generalist preparation. 
  

A two-page summary of the discussion will be available shortly, a digital proceedings document will be available on the School of Nursing website by March 2013.  The Canadian Nurses Association (who collaborated on the think tank) will assume leadership for the next step in partnership with the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing and other key stakeholders.