Nursing professionals interested in taking their learning to the next level are encouraged to attend a 1.5-hour information meeting at Thompson Rivers University, which will offer UBC’s Master of Science in Nursing program in the BC Interior for the fourth time.

The meeting, to be held Friday, Mar. 17 at 2:30 pm in Room 375 of TRU’s Science building, will acquaint nurses with information about the fourth cohort of the program, scheduled to begin in September, 2006, with students slated to graduate after two years of study. Dr. Carol Jillings, program coordinator of the MSN program at UBC, will be on hand to provide a program introduction and answer questions.

The program is being offered after the BC Government recognized a need for nursing education development, and announced additional funding to help prepare nurse educators at the master’s level. As education is a component of many nursing roles, this does not exclude those who, in addition to an education focus, also want to incorporate course work that focuses on a clinical area.

One goal of the TRU MSN cohort is to create an opportunity for graduate-level study for nurses living outside the Lower Mainland, but TRU MSN coordinator Sharon Simpson said the program attracts nurses from throughout BC including the Fraser Valley.

“It’s largely an on-line program,” she explained. “There are only two courses that need to be taken in a face-to-face classroom format, and nurses in Chilliwack and Hope tell me it’s easier for them to travel up the Coquihalla than it is to make their way to UBC in Vancouver.”

She also noted that most of the students in each cohort continue to work full-time while completing their degree work.

The distance delivery aspect of the program was an attraction for TRU nursing instructor Erin McGarvey, who balanced work and a new baby with completing the program in only five semesters.

“The on-line courses were nice,” she said. “They allowed me to make choices and to balance my time in ways that were best for me and my family.”

McGarvey said she took the program for job security, since her university requires instructors hold a graduate degree, but noted other benefits.

“I wanted to take my learning to the next level regardless of teaching, but it also opens up a lot of other doors,” she explained. “Having a master’s degree means far broader options in the form of management and training in the hospital setting.”

In addition to the five core MSN courses, the program focuses on educational processes in nursing, including curriculum design and content, as well as experience related to teaching in several contexts, plus course work in a clinical context.

For more information on the program or information meeting, please contact Sharon Simpson at 250-828-5420 or by email.