College of Nursing Celebrates 85th Anniversary
Province-wide celebrations mark 85 years of delivering nursing education.
85 years of delivering nursing education in Saskatchewan. 85 years of educating the healthcare professionals of the future. 85 years of nursing research.
This is the history of the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Nursing.
First as a department in the School of Medical Sciences (now the College of Medicine), the College of Nursing was established in 1938. The School of Nursing became the College of Nursing in 1973.
To mark this historical milestone, anniversary celebrations were held at College of Nursing campuses and sites across Saskatchewan this fall.
Kicking off festivities in September, College of Nursing faculty and staff celebrated in Prince Albert on September 25th, La Ronge September 26th, and Île-à-la-Crosse September 27th.
In October, celebrations were held in Regina on October 17th and Yorkton October 18th.
On November 21st, the College of Nursing celebrated the establishment of the distributed nursing site at Lakeland College, as well as the 85th anniversary.
On December 13th at the main USask Campus in Saskatoon, the final 85th celebration took place.
Over the years, the undergraduate nursing curriculum has varied in length, different diploma programs were introduced, and the post-reg (now known as the post-degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing option) have been offered. The first graduate nursing program was established in 1986 – Master of Nursing, the Nurse Practitioner program in 2006, and the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing in 2007.
“Throughout the course of eight and a half decades, College of Nursing programming, as well as faculty research, has evolved to be responsive to the healthcare needs of today, while not forgetting the lessons we’ve learned from our rich history,” said Dr. Richter (DCur).
The College of Nursing past includes over 11,200 alumni now practicing as registered nurses at the bedside, working in the community, or educating the nurses of tomorrow in academia. Our future is bright with over 1,050 undergraduate students currently studying to become registered nurses and over 265 graduate learners advancing their nursing knowledge.
“We have been fortunate to have the opportunity to celebrate this milestone with our students, alumni, faculty, staff, community partners, government, college supporters, and friends,” said College of Nursing dean Dr. Solina Richter.
“This is a history we should all be proud of.”
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