String of nursing graduations kick off September at ACC

It may be ‘back to school’ for many this week, but for 82 recent Assiniboine Community College nursing graduates, September marks the end of one chapter and the start of a new.

Earlier today in Brandon, the college held its third Practical Nursing graduation this week where 27 students celebrated their achievements.

Valedictorian Annie Muir chose nursing as an occupation so she could put her skills to work helping others in the community.

“I chose to go into the nursing program to make a difference in people's lives,” said Muir. “It’s a profession I can go home and feel proud about knowing that I have made a difference in someone's life each day.”

Muir has already secured employment as a graduate nurse at the Brandon Regional Health Centre with plans to write her licensure exam at the end of the month to become certified as a licensed practical nurse (LPN).

Yesterday, 34 students who had taken the program at ACC’s campus in Winnipeg donned their white uniforms and crossed the stage to receive their diplomas in front of family and friends.

On Wednesday, 21 nursing students graduated in Pine Falls — a location that was selected back in 2014 to host one of the college’s rural rotating nursing sites. Since 1999, ACC has delivered the Practical Nursing program in rural rotating sites in addition to its permanent sites at campuses in Brandon and Winnipeg.

This week’s 82 graduates were all students in nursing programs that started in January 2015.

“It’s a great time for these graduates to be entering the healthcare field,” said Karen Hargreaves, ACC’s Dean of Health & Human Services. “Employment opportunities are strong across the province and our Practical Nursing program has helped to prepare them for success in their chosen careers.”

The college’s two-year Practical Nursing diploma program teaches clinical nursing skills in a laboratory setting and applied skills in acute and extended care health facilities, personal care homes, community agencies and private homes. The demand for ACC nursing graduates is high; 99 per cent of graduates in the past three years said they were employed.

Above: Nursing graduates gather for a class photo before their ceremony in Brandon at the college's Victoria Avenue East Campus.

Below: Graduating student Cassandra Garnham sits among her classmates at the Brandon Practical Nursing graduation ceremony.