[deasine]

Can't reveal too much, but:


Minister of Health George Abbott and Minister of Advanced Education Murray Coell will be making an important education announcement this Saturday

Location:

BC Institute of Technology (BCIT)

[mr.x]

"We're turning BCIT into a real university" :D

[deasine]

LAWL wouldn't mind =D

Maybe Kevin Flacon should annouce the extension of the 41st Avenue RapidBus (91 B-line) too =D

Holy cow there is so much people getting on the bus between Canada Way and Moscrop... I didn't realize until yesterday. Not enough buses going around for sure!

[mr.x]

What type of announcement is this???? the way you put it, it could be about anything.

[deasine]

Actually I don't have too many details myself. It could be about anything actually. But it's more centered into education, according to the guy who sent me the email.

[mr.x]

Actually I don't have too many details myself. It could be about anything actually. But it's more centered into education, according to the guy who sent me the email.

Cancellation of provincial exams? (my year always gets guinea pigged)

A new bookcase at BCIT?

Transit passes for every Lower Mainland post-secondary student?

[deasine]

Cancellation of provincial exams? (my year always gets guinea pigged)

You arent' the one suffering from Graduation Transition Plans/Portfolios or UBC now counting grade 10 provincials (the ones I didn't do too well on)

[quobobo]

You arent' the one suffering from Graduation Transition Plans/Portfolios or UBC now counting grade 10 provincials (the ones I didn't do too well on)

Portfolios... I missed those by a couple years and they still make me angry. So, so silly.

I don't think UBC counts grade 10 provincials though. There's no mention of them on the Calendar, and specifically: "The admission average will be calculated on English 12 and the three additional approved examinable Grade 12 courses or the equivalent." Am I missing something?

http://www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=2,22,63,0

[deasine]

Portfolios... I missed those by a couple years and they still make me angry. So, so silly.

I don't think UBC counts grade 10 provincials though. There's no mention of them on the Calendar, and specifically: "The admission average will be calculated on English 12 and the three additional approved examinable Grade 12 courses or the equivalent." Am I missing something?

http://www.students.ubc.ca/calendar/index.cfm?tree=2,22,63,0

Grade 12 will always be the most important year for sure. They announced this in the beginning of the school year (in September) but I can't find any news article on this now. But still... ahhh... stupid graduation portfolios. Our counsellor isn't helping either, she was like in the beginning of the year, you have to a get a trainer to certify that you did your eighty hours of physical work. But now, she's like yeah just get ur parents to sign. God dammit...

[deasine]

From gov.bc.ca

B.C. TO FUND THREE-YEAR NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM AT BCIT


BURNABY – The Province announced today that it will provide $1.4 million in one-time funding to kickstart the first three-year accelerated nursing degree program in the province at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

“Nurses play a critical role in our health system. An accelerated three-year nursing degree is an innovative approach to get nurses into the workforce sooner,” said Health Minister George Abbott. “One of the things we heard in the Conversation on Health and committed to in the throne speech was a three-year bachelor of science in nursing program.”

Last month’s throne speech recognized the importance of health professionals in providing quality health care and committed to substantially expand access to qualified health professionals. The throne speech included a commitment by the Province to establish a three-year bachelor of science in nursing program to permit nurses to gain their degree a year sooner with significant on-the-job training.

In addition to this year’s one-time funding – $1 million from the Ministry of Health and $395,000 from the Ministry of Advanced Education – BCIT will receive ongoing capital and operational funds from the Ministry of Advanced Education. The Ministry of Health finalized its plans to provide BCIT with $1 million to support the three-year nursing program during discussions with the Nurses Bargaining Association to resolve the Bill 29 issue.

“BCIT has an excellent bachelor of science nursing program, and this new degree option will build on its many strengths, while allowing students to complete their degree sooner with more hands-on training,” said Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell. “This accelerated degree program will graduate nurses who are well-qualified to meet the complex health needs of British Columbians and demonstrates our commitment to providing a variety of post-secondary options for B.C. students.”

BCIT will accelerate its bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree to enable students to complete the program in three years, with the first intake of students in August 2008. Courses will have the same quality expectations for outcomes and competencies by using the full calendar year.

“Creating a three-year nursing degree program is an exciting move for BCIT and we are proud that this will be the first of its kind in British Columbia,” said BCIT dean of health sciences Kathy Kinloch. “Through the innovative use of technology, the talent of our faculty, and partnerships with health authorities, our program will provide students who are interested in pursuing an opportunity to be in the workforce faster, meeting the needs and expectations of all the communities we serve."

Other B.C. post-secondary institutions are considering offering accelerated nursing degree programs, and similar programs are expected to be created in other regions.

“We are pleased to be moving ahead with the introduction of the three-year nursing program,” said BC Nurses’ Union president Debra McPherson. “The three-year nursing degree program is a good step towards reducing the nursing shortages in this province.”

Since 2001, government has invested $174 million – including $28 million in 2007 – to help educate, retain and recruit the best qualified nurses. B.C. has added over 3,300 nursing education spaces throughout British Columbia in this time period – an increase of 82 per cent.

[mr.x]

ohh...that's it? nothing biggie.

[deasine]

Not too big either, but interesting to see that they released such a program at BCIT... Hopefully this would help us in the health labour shortage.

[WBC]

Shortage of nurses is a load of crap. We have plenty of doctors and nurses but we chose to run our healtchare in the most inneficient way possible. Run it like YVR and all will be well.

[jlousa]

I have to somewhat agree with the above poster, the shortage is due to inefficiency, wether or not it's self created by the unions to drive up wages I can only speculate. The fact remains, we as a country outspend almost every country in the world yet our QoS is dropping quickly. It should be obvious that something isn't working. throwing more of the same at it to see if it fixes it won't be the solution, hmm didn't we try that somewhere else with terrible results. I'm not going to assume I know what the solution is, as this is so far off my line of work, but I have no doubt there are people out there that could fix the problem but aren't being allowed.

[deasine]

Partially agree. But then many health workers will be retiring soon. I think we should start following the European system of healthcare, private/public.

[zivan56]

I have to somewhat agree with the above poster, the shortage is due to inefficiency, wether or not it's self created by the unions to drive up wages I can only speculate. The fact remains, we as a country outspend almost every country in the world yet our QoS is dropping quickly. It should be obvious that something isn't working. throwing more of the same at it to see if it fixes it won't be the solution, hmm didn't we try that somewhere else with terrible results. I'm not going to assume I know what the solution is, as this is so far off my line of work, but I have no doubt there are people out there that could fix the problem but aren't being allowed.

Well you could argue the same about hockey players and their unions driving up wages and increasing the price of PPV/tickets/whatnot. Think about it, they earn millions per year with little to no education, while a nurse actually has to complete hundreds of classes and spend around 10 years getting there. Not to mention doctors as well.
Realistically, we need to get rid of the college of physicians and whoever "certifies" nurses, and replace them with fair and impartial people to judge them. It is a well known fact that these places make doctors from other countries, who are even specialized, to start from step 0! This is purely to keep the number of doctors low, and nothing else. In fact, I know of such a doctor who now is a building manager. Why didn't he get his license here? Because it's kind of hard being a building manager and getting enough money to pay for courses. Much less courses you have already taken decades ago. If we got more nurses and doctors, it would drive wages down to a non-inflated level that the unions are pushing for. However, this still doesn't address overcrowding and lack of beds in some places where it is a physical space barrier.