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Mount Royal College Introduces Neuroscience Nursing Program

A new program at Mount Royal College in Calgary will help nurses care for people like Dave Irwin, Christopher Reeve or Michael J. Fox-people who suffer from traumatic or chronic neurological problems such as spinal cord injuries, strokes, Parkinson's or Lou Gehrig's disease.

"It's not unusual for a hospital emergency department to see 10 stroke patients on a weekend," says Lorna Estabrooks, the Advanced Studies in Critical Care Nursing (ACCN) coordinator and instructor for the new post-degree program.

Scheduled to begin in September 2004, the Neuroscience Nursing stream of the ACCN certificate program will be the only program in Western Canada giving registered nurses specialized skills to deal with a growing need.

"Neuroscience nurses look at the whole patient-symptoms, acute care, rehabilitation-as well as their families," she says, explaining that advances in areas such as diagnosis and treatment of strokes and neuroscience surgery have propelled the need for specialized neuroscience nursing skills. "If there is an injury to any organ in the body, you need immediate intervention. The same is true with neurological injuries. You could miss a window of opportunity if assessment and action is delayed."

ACCN instructor and registered nurse Frankie Wong expects the need for specialized nursing knowledge to grow even stronger in the future. "Nurses need more knowledge to take care of the population," he says, noting that general knowledge, awareness and understanding of neurological issues has been rising over the years.

The new program encourages nurses to stay in Alberta to develop their skills. It's also an investment in the health care system that could help attract nurses to the province. "We're trying to keep Alberta at the cutting edge," Estabrooks says, noting that the Capital and Calgary health regions asked Mount Royal to develop the program. Both regions helped with curriculum content and will help fund nurses who enroll in the program.

The two-year certificate program comprises core ACCN courses (taken by distance delivery) and specialized neuroscience nursing courses, including theory and clinical practice. Estabrooks expects approximately 30-40 students to enroll each year, with recent RN graduates and experienced nurses taking part.

A grant from Alberta Learning will also allow Mount Royal College to offer an online version starting in January 2005. This will make the program available across Canada as well as remote communities in Alberta.

The neuroscience nursing courses will be open to students from other nursing streams and to other allied health professionals who can benefit from them. After completing the Neuroscience Nursing program, nurses can write the certification exam offered by the Canadian Nurses Association.

Article submitted by Mount Royal College