Portage College Practical Nursing students are some of the best in Canada. That healthy admission is backed up by results of the recent Canadian Practical Nurse Registration examination. Of the 29 students who graduated from the Practical Nursing program at the college's Cold Lake campus in June 2011, 96 per cent have passed the exam that will give them the certification to become Licensed Practical Nurses. The results of the recent Canadian Practical Nurse Registration examination put the program's most recent diploma graduates near the top of the class nation-wide. "The Portage graduating class had 96 per cent of their class pass the examination," said Linda Rieder, the Practical Nurse Program Coordinator at Portage College's Cold Lake campus. "When the results came in from across Canada, it showed that the national average was a 78 per cent pass rate. In Alberta, there was an impressive 93 per cent success rate ... and our class was better than that." The pass rate of the class not only speaks to the abilities of the students, but also to the caliber of instruction in the Portage College program. Rieder said the nursing students have access to some of the most state-of-the-art equipment in their classes, including the most recent addition of a high-fidelity 'Sim-Lab' complete with fully computerized mannequins. The Canadian Practical Nurse Registration Examination is written three times a year by graduating Practical Nurse students in schools across Canada. The exam consists of questions that are based on the competencies needed for nurses to be successful in their chosen profession. This year marks the fourth intake for the Practical Nurse program at the Cold Lake Portage College campus. Practical Nurses are an integral part of the health care team, providing nursing care to clients including medication administration, assessment, and medical treatments. For more information, please contact Leona Geller at 780-623-5591.
"Our Sim-Lab allows us to expand on situational learning. It's a great learning tool that we have and it gives our students and faculty a great advantage over other programs."
