OSHAWA, Ont. - On Thursday, May 12 from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) and Durham College, in partnership with the Durham Region Local Training Board, Lakeridge Health, Rouge Valley Health, Durham Access to Care, Whitby Mental Health, and the Regional Municipality of Durham's Health Department and Services for Seniors, held a unique career awareness event for students of Durham Region to promote educational and career opportunities in the field of nursing at the Oshawa campus.
Over 125 students and teachers attended this event. They heard from various nursing professionals about the diversity of careers and future opportunities in acute and specialty care nursing, gerontology, mental health, and community care and public health, and toured the Durham College and UOIT state-of-the-art lab and training facility.
In her opening address, Irmajean Bajnok from the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario's Centre for Professional Nursing Excellence, remarked that "the demand for Nurses will intensify and prospects have never been brighter," despite recent staff reduction announcements in some Ontario hospitals.
According to the Canadian Nurses Association, 50 per cent of nurses will reach retirement age in the next five to seven years, and the nation can expect a shortage of more than 100,000 nurses by the year 2011.
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About Durham College
For 38 years, Durham College has been committed to providing job-focused programs, accomplished professors, quality-driven innovation, student success and superior accountability. Our college has ranked first in provincial indicators for student satisfaction in the GTA for six years running, and at an 89.7 per cent grad employment rate, we have the highest ranking of the six GTA colleges. We've got over 5,500 full-time and 22,000 part-time students enrolled in just under 100 programs, as well as about 2,000 apprentices. For more information, visit our website at www.durhamcollege.ca, or call 905.721.2000.
Media contact:
Tania Henvey
Communications and Marketing
905.721.3111 ext. 2513
tania.henvey@dc-uoit.ca
Rick Lea, executive director
Durham Region Local Training Board
905.666.3620
localtrainingboard@sympatico.ca
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