Many new nurses will be graduating from Quesnel’s College of New Caledonia nursing program in a few short weeks, and many more will continue their studies in Quesnel in the coming years. To celebrate National Nursing Week (May 7-13), we found out what some of Quesnel’s nursing students are up to.
Far and away
Currently, two nursing students from Quesnel are in Bangalore, India, on a five-week clinical practicum.
Meghan Cornish and Anien Maree travelled to India a few weeks ago and while there, will work at a Bangalore hospital and visit orphanages. They took with them flip flops, educational activities and supplies, colouring books, stickers, bubbles, small toys and Canadian souvenirs to donate to House of Hope, which is a program providing a safe place for orphaned children affected by HIV.
Maree, who is from Pretoria, South Africa, said she was looking forward to working with nurses from other parts of the world.
“I grew up in a third-world country; now I live in Canada, a first-world country, and I am looking forward to going to work in a third-world country with the new skills I’ve been learning,” she commented.
“It will be a challenge and interesting to see how we can communicate with people when we don’t have a shared language.”
Maree has been in Quesnel for three years.
Cornish moved to Quesnel from Bella Coola to complete the nursing program and is a licensed practical nurse. She says the volunteering trip intrigued her because of her interest in global health and new experiences.
She has volunteered her skills before, in Lesbos, Greece, during the refugee crisis in November 2016. She says she gets a lot from her volunteer experiences.
“Helping people and caring for them translate across cultures,” she said.
Maree and Cornish will return from India at the end of May.
Closer to home
Ericka Kirby will complete her Bachelor of Science in Nursing this month, after the four-year program at CNC and the University of Northern British Columbia.
Kirby grew up in Quesnel and chose to stay here to complete her degree.
“I never thought about going anywhere else but CNC Quesnel; in fact, it was the only school I applied to,” she says.
Kirby says she has gotten a well-rounded education here.
“Our campus has a very tight-knit community; resources are very accessible within classrooms and with instructors; students in PG also have benefits ,but we are luckier than they are. Our program focuses on the passion of nursing.”
Watch CNC Quesnel’s promotional video below, which includes a section on the college’s nursing lab.
