Assiniboine rural rotating Practical Nursing program to be held in Otterburne, Morden

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The Honourable Jon Reyes, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration stand at a podium, speaking into a microphone and gesturing toward the crowd out of frame.
The Honourable Jon Reyes, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration announces two new Assiniboine rural rotating Practical Nursing sites.

Assiniboine Community College is announcing another rural rotating site for its Practical Nursing diploma, in Otterburne, Manitoba. This program, in partnership with Southern Health-Santé Sud located at Providence University College, will begin in September 2022. An additional rural rotating site will be held in Morden, starting in January 2023. Both sites will have capacity for 25 students.

The addition of these rural rotating sites at Providence University College in Otterburne and in Morden follow the February announcement of Arborg, Manitoba as a rural rotating site, and the announced expansion of the college’s Portage la Prairie nursing site to welcome 35 students each year. A significant provincial investment in nursing allowed for three new rotating sites as well as the Portage La Prairie expansion.

Applications to both sites are open until May 23, 2022. All qualified applications received by the deadline will be assessed for admission. Initially, only those living within the Southern Health-Santé Sud Region will be considered for admission for the Otterburne site. For the Morden site, priority will be given to applicants who live within 150km of Morden.

The Otterburne rural rotating site will use existing Providence University College campus facilities. Morden’s site will make use of a currently vacant facility in the community.


“Our Skills, Talent and Knowledge Strategy calls for programs to ensure people have more access to post-secondary education in Manitoba in sectors with high labour demand, such as health care. Assiniboine’s rural rotating nursing sites are an important contributor to the province’s goal of increasing nursing seats in the coming year, and I am confident these programs in Otterburne and Morden will help address the need for nurses in Manitoba.”
- The Honourable Jon Reyes, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration

“The Otterburne site will provide an opportunity for students in the eastern part of our region to get their post-secondary education closer to home. In Morden, we have a growing community and a great opportunity to reach many potential students in a central hub of our region. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with Assiniboine, developing a new relationship with Providence and helping our region meet the high demand for nurses.”
- René Ouellette, Regional Lead – Human Resources with Southern Health-Santé Sud

“This is a great opportunity to continue to expand our training to this part of the province. Rural rotating nursing sites are essential to ensuring there are enough trained nurses to keep up with demand in all regions of the province. The partnership with Providence offers a great opportunity to bring training to this region and to work with Providence College to meet the needs of the region.”
- Mark Frison, President at Assiniboine

“The need for practical nurses is significant and we are pleased to be sharing in this initiative alongside Assiniboine and Southern Health Santé Sud. Together we can accomplish more. We are pleased to welcome you to Providence, Assiniboine Community College!”
- Kenton Anderson, President of Providence University College

"The past two years has demonstrated the importance of investing in a robust healthcare skills training pipeline. Today's announcement is great news for rural and remote Manitoba, as rural communities are effective and capable partners in expanding health-care capacity. I am confident that investing in health-care training in the communities where healthcare is provided will pay dividends for years to come. Morden is grateful to the Province of Manitoba and Assiniboine Community College for being selected as a site for expanded nursing training in southern Manitoba, and we intend to be strong partner now, and into the future."
- Brandon Burley, Mayor, City of Morden


In addition to rural rotating sites, the college has permanent Practical Nursing programs at its campuses in Brandon, Winnipeg, Dauphin and Portage la Prairie.

The demand for Assiniboine nursing graduates continues to be high; 100 per cent of practical nursing graduates surveyed from the 2019-20 academic year said they had jobs, making on average more than $53,000 a year.

Important updates, information, and checklists for prospective applicants are available at assiniboine.net/nursing.

A group of eight individuals stand together, wearing masks.

Left to right:

  • Treena Slate, Chief Nursing Officer, Prairie Mountain Health
  • Len Isleifson, MLA Brandon East
  • Mark Frison, President, Assiniboine Community College
  • Reg Helwer, Minister of Labour, Consumer Protection and Government Services, MLA for Brandon West
  • Jon Reyes, Minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration, MLA for Waverly
  • Brian Schoonbaert, Chief Exectuive Officer, Prairie Mountain Health
  • Wayne Ewasko, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Learning, MLA Lac du Bonnet
  • Doyle Piwniuk, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, MLA for Turtle Mountain