Native Nursing Entry Program celebrates grand reopening

Nibinamik’s Delphine Yellowhead is looking forward to studying nursing at Lakehead University after graduating from the Native Nurses Entry Program last spring.
“I’m going to first-year nursing this fall,” Yellowhead said. “I’ve heard from other students that it’s hard and you just have to study hard as you can and focus.”
Yellowhead’s daughter Shannon is excited to see her mother succeeding with her studies.
“She keeps on telling me ‘You’re going to do it mom,’” Yellowhead said. “You’re going to make a good nurse.”
Yellowhead had problems during her first attempt at NNEP, but succeeded on her second attempt after studying chemistry and biology.
“When I went the second time, I knew what was expected so I was more prepared,” Yellowhead said, explaining the chemistry classes were difficult for her during her first attempt at NNEP. “I never took it in high school because I dropped out. I had to take it through Lakehead Adult Education (Centre).”
Yellowhead also has six children to care for while she is studying.
“I just studied hard and took tutors and tried to do my best and I finally made it,” Yellowhead said. “It’s just awesome.”
Yellowhead was one of the former NNEP students who helped celebrate the grand reopening of NNEP’s office in the Braun Building, which was closed a few years ago due to a fire.
NNEP graduate Suzanne Fitzpatrick also had plenty of support from her children; two daughters have since graduated from NNEP.
“I think just through my experience in going through the program, certainly your children are part of it too and you’re a big role model for your children, so of course over the years they came through the program themselves,” Fitzpatrick said. “My youngest daughter is just going into first-year nursing, so it’s good to see.”
Fitzpatrick has worked in nursing at a northern gold mine for six years and in her own community since graduating with a nursing degree in 1997.
Temagami’s Mae Katt, the original program coordinator with NNEP, said the program was designed to provide students with a stronger foundation in sciences and to improve some of their communication skills.
“I’m still working as a nurse so I still travel out to the communities and I run into a lot of the graduates,” Katt said. “They are now working in nursing careers in the communities. Some of them are nurses in charge and it’s nice to see them being able to deliver nursing services in their own language.”
Katt said it is a big change for the communities to have nurses with in-depth knowledge of the language and culture.
“They’re not used to having Aboriginal nurses in those numbers working for them,” Katt said.
Twenty-four students are enrolled in this year’s class at NNEP, including two male students.
“Over the 26 years we’ve had not too many males coming into the profession,” said Sandra Cornell, program manager at NNEP. “So it’s starting to change around those old roles with males coming into the profession too.”
Fifty-one of NNEP’s graduates have completed their nursing degrees since 1987, 36 are currently in years 1-4 in Lakehead’s nursing program, and seven are expected to graduate from nursing in 2013.
Cornell said NNEP is also a stepping-stone for other graduates, many who have gone on the study in other fields, such as social work, business administration, chemistry and biology.
NNEP graduates with a 70 per cent average overall are guaranteed a seat in Lakehead’s four-year nursing degree program and graduates with an 80 per cent average overall are guaranteed a seat in Lakehead’s three-year compressed nursing degree program.