Virden to host Assiniboine Practical Nursing program in 2024

Assiniboine Community College is offering a second intake of the Practical Nursing program at the rural rotating training site in Virden, Manitoba. The program will start in September 2024 with capacity for 25 students.

“Offering training closer to home means people living in rural communities have more choice when pursuing post-secondary education, and this Practical Nursing program in Virden will enable more nurses to be trained to fill the on-going demand,” said Manitoba Advanced Education and Training Minister, Sarah Guillemard. “As we work to fulfill our commitment to add 400 new nursing seats to meet Manitoba’s health sector needs, this program also complements our health human resource action plan to retain, train and recruit more nurses and the implementation of our government’s Skills, Training and Knowledge Strategy.”

Applications for Virden’s Practical Nursing site are now open. Applications will be assessed and admitted on an ongoing basis, with those living within 100 km of Virden being given priority.

“There is a high demand for nurses in all corners of the province. Our rural rotating sites, available close to home for many prospective nurses, make education more accessible and allow us to train nurses who will stay in the region and province,” said Mark Frison, President at Assiniboine. “Opportunities like this are only possible with the support of the community and local health region and the financial support of the province.”

A significant provincial investment in 2021 expanded Assiniboine’s Portage la Prairie nursing site to welcome 35 new students each year and allowed for three additional rural rotating sites every two years.

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

“Prairie Mountain Health is very pleased that a rural rotating Practical Nursing program site has been selected for Virden in 2024. Our health region continues to benefit from Assiniboine’s commitment, and stakeholder support, to offer education opportunities closer to home,” said Brian Schoonbaert, CEO at Prairie Mountain Health. “We also continue our strong partnership with Assiniboine relating to the permanent Practical Nursing programs, and look forward to connecting with graduates to explore job opportunities that are readily available within our region.”
The college will announce additional rural rotating Practical Nursing sites across the province for 2024-25 in the coming weeks.

The demand for Assiniboine nursing graduates continues to be high; 100 per cent of practical nursing graduates surveyed from the 2021-22 academic year said they had jobs, making on average more than $57,000 a year.

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