Nursing an extension of mothering for Georgian nursing degree student
May 7, 2023
Georgian celebrates National Nursing Week May 8 to 12
Georgian has thousands of nursing alumni, with the very first graduating class of the Nursing Assistant program dating back to 1974.
Our nursing graduates are well-known in our campus communities – and beyond – for their abilities, compassion and leadership in interprofessional health care teams.
Nursing students have two programs to choose from: Practical Nursing or Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing, the first stand-alone nursing degree in Central Ontario, offered at the Barrie and Owen Sound campuses.
In recognition of National Nursing Week (May 8 to 14), we spoke with Megan Bartley, a first-year nursing degree student at the Owen Sound Campus about her experience in the program, and why she says she wouldn’t be able to pursue her dream of nursing if the program wasn’t offered close to home.
What inspired you to pursue nursing?
Even before having children of my own, I was always the “mother of the group” among family and friends, and I’ve always taken pride in helping those around me. In 2019, I started working at Grey Bruce Health Services as an environmental service worker alongside so many amazing nurses. This helped me realize that my mothering instinct was a nurses’ most cherished trait.
As a mother of two children, traveling or re-locating wasn’t an option for me. If it wasn’t for Georgian offering all four years of the nursing degree in Owen Sound, achieving my goal of becoming a registered nurse wouldn’t have been possible.
I also recently received the 2023 Registered Nurses’ Foundation of Ontario (RNFOO) Undergraduate Scholarship, which inspired me to continue my studies and confirmed I made the right decision…in nursing, and in pursuing the nursing degree at Georgian College.
Why did you decide to pursue the Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing degree at the Owen Sound Campus?
I chose to study in Owen Sound because it offered everything I needed at a convenient location. The campus offered the program I was interested in – along with smaller class sizes and a supportive college community – all while being close to family in Owen Sound. As a mother of two, this works well for my work/school/life balance. The fact that Georgian has a great reputation for providing top-notch nursing programs really sealed the deal for me.
How has learning in the new Nursing and Wellness Wing helped improve your educational experience?
The new innovative nursing wing has been key to attaining the skills, confidence and knowledge I need to enter my placement safely and confidently. The classrooms are up-to-date and the labs resemble patient rooms in hospital settings – they’re equipped with TVs to view class content, suction canasters, IV pumps, call bells, and oxygen.
Having the labs designed to replicate real patient rooms really helped me and my classmates become familiar with layouts, equipment and processes typical to hospitals we’ll be working in for our placements and when we graduate.
What kind of skills did you work on in the Nursing and Wellness wing?
I’ve had time to work with manikins, learning new skills such as patient assessments, checking and monitoring vitals, and basic patient care. For example, the new abdominal manikins have the ability to portray an array of sounds and masses to assist students in hearing normal and abnormal bowel sounds during abdominal assessments, and feel any potential masses. These all help nursing students use critical thinking skills to determine which organs could be affected.
What are you looking forward to next?
I’m excited to start my placement this September; our first one will be in a low-acuity setting such as a long-term care home or rehabilitation unit.
Nursing and Wellness Wing
The Nursing and Wellness Wing at the Owen Sound Campus will have an extraordinary impact on community health and the staff of health-care facilities throughout the region.
Want to study nursing? Need financial assistance?
- Ontario Learn and Stay Grant – financial assistance for students studying in the Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing and Practical Nursing programs at the Owen Sound Campus
- Other awards and scholarships for nursing students