KAMLOOPS – Thompson Rivers University (TRU) is launching a Master of Nursing- Nurse Practitioner (MN-NP) program, the first of its kind offered in the Interior Health region. The new program comes as TRU continues to add in-demand degrees and programs to offer students more career opportunities, and to help bolster local, regional, and national health-care systems and infrastructures.
This valuable addition to TRU’s School of Nursing is thanks to the BC Government’s 2021-22 announcement to provide $5 million to public post-secondary institutions to begin the expansion of nursing seats throughout the province.
“It’s exciting to see a new program that addresses the needs of our region and reflects the strengths of our faculty,” said President and Vice-Chancellor Brett Fairbairn. “Nurse-practitioners are leaders in health-care delivery, and I’m confident that this new offering will equip students with the critical skills needed to support BC’s people.”
TRU’s full-time, two-year MN-NP program will provide students with a master’s level education that allows them to work as independent health practitioners. Nurse practitioners are highly skilled professionals who can assess a patient’s health, prescribe medications, order and interpret tests, and make referrals to specialists.
“The MN-NP program at TRU is long awaited. It will be the only program in the Interior and will help address the need in our region. We are heartened by the amazing support we have received from current practitioners to support our students and there’s a lot of interest from future students,” said TRU Dean of Nursing Rani Srivastava.
In BC, nurse practitioners work in primary care clinics, acute care, emergency departments, ambulatory clinics, walk-in clinics, residential care homes and hospice services. The MN-NP program also meets needs identified by regional advanced nursing practice leaders and the BC Ministry of Health.
“Nurse practitioners play an important role in BC’s health-care system,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. “This program will allow for more nurses to train and stay close to home, expand health-care offerings to those who need it, and expand the skills nurses want to provide in primary and acute care settings that British Columbians rely on.”
TRU’s MN-NP program is currently under review by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Nurse Midwives (BCCNM) education program review committee. The School of Nursing begins accepting applications for the MN-NP program on March 1, 2023, for its first cohort pending BCCNM approval.
The addition of the MN-NP program builds on TRU’s current health-care education programs, which include the Master of Nursing graduate degree, Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) program, Practical Nurse diploma, and Health Care Assistant and Continuing Education certificates.
For more information about the MN-NP program and all other TRU School of Nursing programs, please visit tru.ca/nursing.
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Contact:
Rani H. Srivastava
Dean of Nursing, Thompson Rivers University
250-828-5441 | rsrivastava@tru.ca
