Through the Ministry of Advanced Education's Nurses Education Bursary, 190 students in nursing programs across British Columbia will receive a total of $380,000 in bursaries this fall.

The Nurses Education Bursary (NEB) is a provincial program that provides up to $1 million in bursary funding, awarded each year to qualified nursing applicants who demonstrate the greatest financial need. Earlier this year, the adjudication process was automated to ensure that nursing students are automatically considered for the bursary when they apply for full-time funding.

One bursary is issued to an individual in a 12-month period. For this period, all recipients will receive $2,000 each, which is the maximum award. The bursary awards are automatically assessed for applicants in eligible nursing programs, based on the financial need on the applicant's full-time StudentAid BC loan application, and are awarded in one of three study periods: January to April, May to August and September to December in each year.

The NEB was established by the provincial government in 2001 as a financial incentive to encourage individuals to train or upgrade as nurses to address labour market demands in B.C.'s nursing profession. Over 5,300 students have received over $18 million through the NEB program since 2001.

The program has been very successful, with recipients of the NEB demonstrating a program completion rate of 96 per cent.

The Province is committed to delivering high-quality, affordable health education closer to home. In addition to providing the NEB, the B.C. government is providing over $2 million to over 288 nursing graduates this year in B.C. student loan forgiveness for nursing graduates who work in underserved B.C. communities for three years. Since 2001, over $4.12 million in B.C. student loans forgiveness has been provided for nursing graduates.

Quotes:

Director, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia, Colleen Varcoe -

"On behalf of UBC, I would like to sincerely thank the Ministry of Advanced Education for the bursaries awarded to our nursing students. Awards such as these allow our students to concentrate on their studies and ultimately become quality health care professionals ready for practice and leadership roles in health care."

Dean of Health Sciences, Douglas College, Pamela Cawley -

"The Nursing Education Bursary provides a wonderful opportunity to ease financial burdens for selected nursing students. Baccalaureate Nursing programs demand a significant level of energy to develop the required professional skills. These bursaries help students devote as much of their energy as possible into their professional studies."

Quick Facts:

Since 2001...

• The Province has invested more than $200 million through the BC Nursing Strategy to educate, recruit and retain nurses.
• B.C. has more than doubled the number of nurse training spaces, adding more than 4,500 new spaces and producing a record number of graduates who have received more than 20,000 degrees, diplomas and certificates in B.C.
• The number of practising nurses in B.C. has risen to nearly 44,000 - with nearly 13,000 more nurses practising in this province, an increase of nearly 22 per cent.
• The Province has created 26 new nursing education programs at public post-secondary institutions in B.C. - including practical nurse, registered nurse, psychiatric nurse, nurse practitioner and other graduate nurse programs.

$2 million in provincial funds have been allocated for an Aboriginal Nursing Strategy to increase the number of nurses of Aboriginal ancestry working in B.C. and to increase the number of Aboriginal communities in B.C. with quality nursing care.

Learn More:

To learn more about the Nurses Education Bursary program, visit: http://www.aved.gov.bc.ca/studentaidbc/

Contact:

Marc Black
Communications Director
Ministry of Advanced Education
250 952-6508
250 889-1295 (cell)