Nursing Scholarship

Back in 1999, the Health Minister Ed Picco stated, "One of the things I'm trying to do is fundamentally change the way we deliver health care services, and one of those fundamental changes is to have more local people actually working in the health care professional field�. At that time about thirty-five per cent of Nunavut's nursing positions sat empty. The government wanted to recruit nurses to fill these positions; but without locally-educated talent, Nunavut's nursing shortage would likely continue. "We're competing against all these other jurisdictions and one of the ways is to develop a capacity pool within Nunavut itself," Picco said. This would also help fulfill the GN's promise to offer health care "closer-to-home�.

OHSNI being committed to improving the health and well-being of the Inuit, wanted to help with this problem within its capacity. In response, OHSNI developed a nursing scholarship. The parameters were to find an individual committed to the health care profession and desirous of working in the North. OHSNI was successful in finding a suitable student – today she is a successful nurse working in the North. OHSNI funded this individual’s education and the professional staff in Ottawa provided mentorship. Our student is quoted as saying, “I was funded through your scholarship program in the past and subsequently completed my post-RN Bachelor’s Degree. I will be graduating with Honors in June 2007. Your generous financial assistance enabled me to achieve this goal. At this time I am applying to take my Masters in Advanced Practice Nursing through Athabasca University through distance education. I have worked as a nurse in Nunavut since 1997 and am currently employed by the Government of Nunavut at the Nunavut Arctic College Nursing Program.�

OHSNI is proud of our contribution to creating locally-educated talent. We will continue with our Nursing Scholarship as long as there are students committed to improving the health status of the Inuit in Canada’s North.

Scholarship Details: Attention: Registered Nurses Program of Study: Bachelor of Nursing; Nurse Practitioner, Master of Education, or Master of Health Administration Eligible: Studying at the Bachelor of Nursing or Nurse Practitioner Interested in conducting research in support of the science and/or art of nursing in any one of the four domains: clinical, educational, administrative or research in Iqaluit. Application Forms: Dowload Here Available from: Wilma Greenley, Program Manager, Baffin Ottawa Program, 120-1929 Russell Road, Ottawa, Ontario  K1G 4G3 Application form to be submitted by March 31, 2008 to: Wilma Greenley, Program Manager, Baffin Ottawa Program, 120-1929 Russell Road, Ottawa, Ontario  K1G 4G3