Ontario’s long-term care homes are critical for the success of our healthcare system, and nurses play an essential role in homes’ operation and system integration. The Government of Ontario has invested significantly in ensuring that well trained, motivated nursing students are graduating from Ontario’s 40+ nursing programs each year.
Students across the province in the Bachelor of Science of Nursing and in the Practical Nursing Programs spend a significant amount of time training in real life care environments through clinical student placements. Ontario’s long-term care homes offer placement opportunities at different stages of nursing education and represent important training grounds for students.
Understanding the importance of nursing in addressing the challenges presented by an aging population, the Nurturing Nursing Students in Long-Term Care¹ research project is examining the factors that support nursing students in choosing gerontology as their specialization after graduation. The goal is to build a student placement model that encourages the right students to choose a clinically and personally rewarding nursing career in long-term care.
Since 2021, the Ontario Centres for Learning, Research, and Innovation (Ontario CLRI) at Bruyère has been collaborating with St. Lawrence College researchers to better understand how the College’s clinical instructors get students ready for and how nursing students experience their placements in Eastern Ontario’s long-term homes. Putting this together with learnings from a rapid review² as well as information gathered from long-term care homes through the Ontario CLRI’s Preceptor Resource and Education Program in Long-Term Care (PREP LTC) program, the research team is developing an optimal model for nursing student placements in long-term care settings.
“The myth is that nursing in long-term care is limited in scope and that you lose your skills. But it’s very complex care. You also get to work with residents holistically. You get to improve their quality of life.” Jessica Hogan, Nursing Student and Research Project Coordinator.
For over 10 years, the Ontario CLRI has been working to improve the experience and practice of nursing students in long-term care. Discover how the Ontario CLRI and its collaborative efforts are shaping optimal models for nursing student placements below:
- Ontario CLRI at Bruyère Welcomes a New Group of Nursing Students to the Team
- What do nursing students think about long-term care?
- Ontario CLRI at Baycrest Welcomes Innovation and Aging Internship Students
- Clinical Nursing Leadership eLearning courses available for nursing students
- Tools offered through the PREP LTC program that long-term care homes can use to offer a robust nursing student placement
- Explore nursing as a career in LTC
Want to become involved in the Nurturing Nursing Student in long-term care? Join the research team when they present at the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Congress 2023 and the Synapse St. Lawrence College conference. Read an interview with Jessica after her presentation at the Kingston Nursing Research Conference.
¹In addition to the collaboration with the Ontario CLRI at Bruyère, the Nurturing Nursing Students research project was funded by the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada through the Skills Advance Ontario Health Care that was led by the Eastern Ontario College Consortium (EOCC). The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Province.
²Bruyère Research Institute (2022) Evidence to support better clinical placements for nurses in long-term care. Evidence summary prepared by Elizabeth Ghogomu, Sierra Dowling, Vivian Welch