The president of Providence University College says a partnership with Assiniboine Community College comes from a desire to be part of the solution.
Dr. Kenton Anderson is, of course, talking about this week's announcement that Providence will host a Practical Nursing program this fall.
"We've been talking with Assiniboine Community College about a number of things and they expressed an interest in extending the opportunity for nursing training in the southeast part of the province. Through a collaboration with Southern Health Sante Sud, we realized there was an opportunity for Providence to be a part of the solution here by providing some of our space for Assiniboine to offer their program on our campus."
Dr. Anderson says the need for more nurses in our province has been well documented and widely reported on. He notes this opportunity means candidates can get the training they need in their area.
"Obviously, at Providence, we are not currently accredited with the regulators to offer that training ourselves but by creatively partnering with Assiniboine, we are able to help facilitate that need and make it possible for students to get that training in our part of the province.
For rural rotating sites, admission priority will be given to those who live in a rural community within 100 km of the site.
Moving forward, Dr. Anderson says Providence University College will explore other such partnerships.
"We are talking to lots of different people about opportunities to maximize the resources that we represent. We've got a great campus and we think that there are lots of opportunities for us to work alongside others to provide opportunities for people in southeastern Manitoba."