Nursing students rally to show support for co-op program
Government, nurses' union blamed for slowing implementation
More than 150 U of M nursing students packed a lecture hall last Friday to show their support for a long-delayed co-op program. However, it appears that the plan has little chance of being implemented before collective bargaining between nurses and the province recommences in late 2004.
Representatives from the faculty, provincial government and the opposition parties took part in a round table discussion that allowed each of the groups to weigh in on the issue.
The forum was organized by nursing students from an "Issues and Trends" class, and was supported by the faculty and the Nursing Students' Association Council.
Wanda Chernomas, associate dean, as well as professors Carolyn Vogt and Ruth Dean, represented the faculty of nursing. They explained that the idea for an undergraduate co-operative program began in 1998, and worked its way through the different steps in the university bureaucracy, eventually gaining senate approval in the fall of 1999. At the time the initiative was developed, there were no other nursing co-op programs in Canada, but the faculty studied a successful effort at the University of North Dakota. Since then, Nova Scotia, B.C. and Alberta have launched similar plans.
Dean said that the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority (WRHA) expressed interest in working with them on the plan. Regional Health Authorities have a lead role in health- care delivery in Manitoba. Vogt confirmed that the WRHA Nursing Leadership Council approved the plan, and that it was presented to the Manitoba Nurses' Union (MNU) prior to the last round of labour negotiations. However, no provisions for the program made it through to the final collective agreement signed with the province in 2002.
Chernomas expressed her frustration with the lengthy process and said the faculty had done all it could: "We are willing to work with interested stakeholders to [launch] the co-op program," she said.
Chernomas also spoke about the benefits of co-ops for students and the community, including transcript recognition (but no academic credit), supervision by mentors and "improved quality of care" in the long term. The faculty would like to see the placement of six students in paid positions on a trial basis.
Myrna Driedger, health critic for the provincial Tories, said she has supported the initiative for a number of years and urged the NDP to "address the roadblocks" and make it a reality.
"As a former nurse myself, I know the value of the extra training you would receive," Driedger told the students. She also said the plan "would help to alleviate some of the problems we see with the nursing shortage."
Liberal leader Jon Gerrard didn't agree that the proposed program would necessarily affect the nursing shortage, but echoed Driedger's praise: "I am a fan of co-operative programs. I think we need more of these [in nursing] and in other areas in this province."
Gerrard also called on the students to press their elected representatives on the issue and take whatever action they can in order to be heard, including letters, e-mails and even direct action.
The WRHA and the MNU did not send representatives to the meeting, despite invitations from the student organizers. Many students seemed angered by the fact that the two key players, along with the health minister, didn't show up.
Letters from Maureen Hancharyk, MNU president, and Jan Currie of the WRHA were read out to the audience.
"Proposals regarding such a program must be negotiated at the bargaining table. There is no other way to make this program available due to the classifications and wages currently defined in the collective agreement," Hancharyk wrote.
The union also has concerns about the supervision of students, potential liability and has no mechanism in place to represent future nurses.
Currie's letter referred to "a number of obstacles" discovered during discussions between the WRHA and the union. It also pointed to the "considerable value" of current employment programs for student health care aides, a statement that elicited groans of dissatisfaction from the students.
As a result, it was Liz Ambrose, representing the department of health, who faced the most questions and bore the brunt of students' criticism. She made a short statement confirming the health minister's support, declaring that "Manitoba Health has not resisted this."
"How much effort is the government really putting forth?" asked one student.
Many students expressed the view that the government and MNU have not been listening to their concerns or allowing them input on health-care matters.
Michelle, a fourth-year nursing student, reminded the panel that they must listen to the students in order to keep them in Manitoba after they graduate.
John Gordon and Jennifer Gourlay of the Nursing Students' Association Council (NSAC) urged students to build on the forum's strong showing and continue to work towards the goal of a successful co-op program.
The NSAC prepared a statement following the round table.
"We, as students need a voice and collectively we can strengthen that voice to overcome challenges. The NSAC looks forward to those challenges and working with fellow students to achieve our goal of seeing this program become a reality."