Nursing students preparing to address ‘evolving needs’ of Halton Region residents

By: Fernando Arce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Milton Reporter

Hundreds of nursing students and other learners are coming to the Halton Region to learn about and eventually help alleviate the region- and demographic-specific issues affecting each community.

Last month, Halton Healthcare announced it had enrolled 363 new learners across various disciplines including 318 nursing students, 26 allied health learners in respiratory therapy, speech language pathology, social work, medical laboratory technology, and 19 non-clinical trainees in areas such as finance and office administration. This month, an additional 20 clinical learners have been onboarded. There are currently no PSW learners.

“We are thrilled to welcome these dedicated learners and instructors to Halton Healthcare,” said Carole Moore, chief nursing executive at Halton Healthcare.

“Our goal is to provide them with exceptional learning opportunities and create an environment where they feel truly valued. By integrating education with real-world experience, we hope to inspire and prepare them for successful careers in healthcare.”

Of the original 363, 12 will be going to Georgetown Hospital, 37 to Milton District Hospital, and 314 to Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital.

Moore says the health issues and opportunities they’ll be addressing “are shaped by the unique demographics and needs of each community.”

“Milton is seeing rapid growth in young families, increasing the demand for paediatric care. To support this, we recently opened additional paediatric beds this past year and plan to create a birthing centre to support low-risk births in the right setting,” she told the Milton Reporter, adding that the newly announced clinical service plan hopes to “meet these evolving needs.”

“In contrast, Georgetown and Oakville have an aging population, with a rise in chronic diseases and a growing need for expanded services for seniors.”

There is a chronic shortage of nurses across the country, and Ontario is being hit hard. In July, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario cited data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) showing that Ontarians need “26,000 additional registered nurses (RN) just to catch up to the RN-to-population ratio in the rest of Canada – a profound gap that has widened by three per cent since 2022. The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) stresses that urgent action is required to retain and recruit more RNs and keep people living in Ontario healthier.”

The new nursing learners are coming from programs running from two to four years, with some looking to graduate as early as this December, “while others are in their first clinical rotation with a scheduled graduation date in two or three years,” Moore added.  “After graduation, nursing learners must write their regulatory exam prior to becoming registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario.”

Moore says Halton Healthcare offers these learners programs to help them along that journey that “offer robust support for nurses starting their careers.”

Some of these include the Enhanced Extern program for nursing students involved with patient safety and activities of daily living; the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG) for new graduates; and others “to help transition Clinical Externs into nursing or allied health positions once they have become registered with their Regulatory College.”

“A lot of people may be nervous going into placements but I’m very excited and eager to start knowing we have a good support system here and dynamic team engagement,” said Olivia Conway, fourth-year learner and clinical externship at Halton Healthcare from Western University.

“By being an extern here for two years I’ve been able to collaborate with different teams like allied health and professional practice, and at Halton Healthcare I’ve had nothing but positive experiences.”