Graduates eager to bolster nursing ranks – Winnipeg Free Press

Winter Traverse knew she wanted to be a nurse after working at a health facility in her home community of Pinaymootang First Nation.

“I worked there as a summer student, so I got to see what nurses did in my community, and that’s what inspired me to go into nursing,” Traverse said.

After having the opportunity to listen to a baby’s heartbeat in a mother’s womb, something sparked in her. Little did she know that in a few years, she’d be working as a senior practicum student on that same labour and delivery floor.

On Wednesday, she recited her nursing pledge, along with 111 other nursing students at the University of Manitoba annual pinning ceremony. The event commemorates a student nurse’s transition into the field upon graduation.

Soon, she’ll have a diploma in hand. After that, Traverse hopes to work in community health in Indigenous communities.

“I’m from the Interlake. I’m from Pinaymootang First Nation. I grew up around that area, so I’m hoping to go back and give back to the community,” Traverse said.

While they took the same oath as their predecessors, this class, who began their journey in January 2020, is unique. For a period of time, they knew each other, mostly through screens. They completed their clinical rotations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, they graduate into a nursing shortage.

“Our graduates are very excited to start their new role providing exemplary care and service to patients and their families,” Netha Dyck, the dean of the College of Nursing said. “I’m quite excited about the contributions that they will make.”

It’s daunting to be heading in a health system that’s been overburdened for years, but Lynette Trinidad, one of two valedictorians, feels equipped to weather the storm.

“I have been working in the health-care system for about a year as a student. I feel that really prepared me and others into actually integrating into the program as a registered nurse,” Trinidad said.

Studying and working through a historic time in health care brought unique learning opportunities. Gillian Laninga worked in many clinical wards throughout nursing school, but notably, a COVID-19 immunization clinic.

“When I look back to when I started the program, I feel like a totally different person,” Laninga said.

The undergraduate nurse employee program, which allows third and fourth-year nursing students to gain paid work experience, was launched in November 2021.

Trinidad, who secured a job through the program, feels it will help ease the nursing shortage in Manitoba, where, in some regions, more than one-third of positions remain unfilled.

In northern communities, such as in Pimicikamak Cree Nation, shortages have put health care access in jeopardy.

Despite ongoing shortages, 97 per cent of nursing grads choose to stay in Manitoba, Dyck said during her address.

For Trinidad, who will start her nursing career next month in the urgent care wing of Seven Oaks Hospital, excitement trumps fear.

“It was a challenge from the very beginning but every time I go to a shift and leave a shift, I feel very fulfilled in my position,” Trinidad said. “Helping other people and just making other people feel good, happy, and cared for really inspires me to keep going.”

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In a speech at the pinning ceremony, Health Minister Audrey Gordon drew attention to funding commitments made by her government. Last fall, the province dedicated $200 million toward hiring 2,000 nurses and providing various incentives, including an hourly premium and professional licensing reimbursement.

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