[Nanaimo Gurl]

Hi everyone,

I am looking at different schools on Vancouver Island. I have been to Sprott Shaw and Malaspina College. I have heard some not so good about the LPN program being not very well organized at Mala..can anyone give me stories on their experience. Sprott Shaw costs $21,000 for 12 months. It seems very high to me...any thoughts? Thank you..oh, and one more thing..was there anything you did before getting into school which convinced you that nursing was for you?

[Fiona59]

You might want to ask the mods to move this to the Canadian Forum.

Pretty much every PN programme has been described as "disorganized", so nothing new there. Personally, I would stick with Malaspina or the old Vancouver Vocational Inst. in Vancouver for the PN programme. Sprott Shaw is pretty new to the field and most other provinces have never heard of them. I remember Sprott Shaw ran a programme up in the Comox Valley, and promised people no problem in finding jobs. Not true. Up there the jobs were mostly in nursing homes and that type of nursing. Most of their grads wanted to work in hospitals. But SS was fast to sign up students who qualified for the EI funding.

School nursing is a challenge. PNs have had that area for the last four years in Alberta. You will need an immunization certificate on top of your PN certificate (12 month programmes issue certificates, diplomas are issued by two+ year programmes). You will also need good catheterization skills and an ability to deal with parents who are not always pleasant. Remember their child is the only child who is important.

Jobs in AB are usually considered part time. Seven hour days, September to June with the summer off. I've known people who love it and others who haven't made it through to Christmas.

Good Luck.

[Ogopogo]

Are there any other schools in Nanaimo? Don't do Sprott Shaw. If you can go to a public community college, it will be so much less expensive and better in the end.

Go to www.clpnbc.ca and find a link to accredited schools. See if there is another one close to you.