Four of James Bay’s own become registered nurses

The James Bay coast has four new registered nurses after they passed the required examination out of Northern College’s Moosonee campus.
Kristin Beck, Kim Gagnon, Melissa Rickard and Harley Weistche all recently passed the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Examination (CPNRE), allowing them to work as registered practical nurses.
“Achieving my license means so much,” said Weistche, one of the four graduates. “I can finally call myself a nurse. It means security for me and my little girl. Education promises me stability in life, success, knowledge and it is going to give me many opportunities.”
All four had graduated from the Northern College’s two-year Practical Nursing program out of its Moosonee campus in May.
Three of the four new nurses are Moose Cree members living in Moose Factory, while the fourth is a Fort Albany member living in Moosonee.
This is the second consecutive class of Practical Nursing graduates from the Moosonee campus to have all passed CPNRE.
The valedictorian of the class said it was nice to be able to complete the program without having to leave her community.
“This is our home, it is our comfort zone and where our consistent support systems are located,” said Beck as she addressed her peers during the graduation ceremony.
“We are so fortunate to have a college campus in our community. We, standing up here in our gowns and caps with diplomas and certificates, are able to encourage each other and others in our community that they can do it as well.”
Northern College is working to expand the educational options available in Moosonee. It has established Pre-Technology and Business Management certificate programs at the Moosonee Campus starting in January of 2014.
The college’s president said it is committed to developing the campus and its program options in response to the needs and directions of the communities it serves.
“We are providing the people of Ontario’s Far North access to the same high quality education we offer at all of our campus, allowing the communities we serve and the people who live there to thrive,” said Fred Gibbons in a media release.
“The fact that all of our Practical Nursing graduates at the Moosonee Campus have passed the Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Examination is a testament to the quality of education that we provide.”
The newly-licensed Registered Practical Nurses are now working in Moosonee and Moose Factory in the health care sector.
All Practical Nursing program graduates must pass the CPNRE in order to register with the College of Nurses of Ontario, so that they may work as Registered Practical Nurses (RPNs) in Ontario.
For the past three years, all Practical Nursing graduates at the Timmins campus have passed the CPNRE, as has last year’s class at the Kirkland Lake Campus.