Access program eases entry into nursing

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Sandy Mair was 14 years old when she dropped out of school and ran away from home. She spent the next three years living on the street. Few street kids ever escape, but Mair's life turned around after the birth of her son, Calvin.

Her son suffered from asthma, so Mair made frequent trips with him to the hospital. It occurred to her on one of those visits that she would make a good nurse. Mair liked to help people, and that kept her so

busy that she often went without sleep.

Mair made a big decision and went back to school to complete her requirements for grade 12. On a high school field trip to the University of Saskatchewan, she was introduced to the National Native Access Program to Nursing.

The program helps open health-care careers to Aboriginal people in hopes of improving the health services offered to them.

Students enrolled in the program, whether Indian, Metis or Inuit, have overcome many barriers, says Clare McNab, coordinator of the program. "An attitude exists that Indian people cannot do science and math," she says. "Many students are counseled in high school to take other routes."

With the lack of encouragement to study the sciences, Aboriginal

students are at a disadvantage when entering the health-care field. According to McNab, this is but one of many barriers.

"When an Aboriginal student chooses a career path, there are very few role models for him or her. Very few Aboriginal people are studying in

professional colleges. Nursing is not a career that they see themselves as able to do, even though the traditional role for women in Native culture is care-giving."

Like Mair, many students also face a lack of family support. "They are often combating all kinds of problems, including dysfunctional families," says McNab. "The majority are single parents with the additional stress of undertaking an intensive university degree while mothering."

The nine-week pre-nursing program, which runs each May and June, introduces Aboriginal students from across Canada to the rigorous science-based curriculum of nursing school.

"Students have the opportunity to see if they can handle the work load -- to find out if it's what they really want to do," says McNab. At the end of the course, each student is evaluated and their recommendation, if granted, is forwarded to the degree-granting nursing school to which they have applied.

The course is held in early spring so students have the summer months to complete any required upgrading prior to nursing classes in the

fall. Each course includes classes in areas such as biology, chemistry, physiology, anatomy, psychology, sociology, clinical practice and nursing theory. Native culture and traditional health beliefs and

practices are also examined.

To date, more than 90 students have completed the access program, 75 per cent of whom have been recommended to nursing colleges. Forty-eight students have graduated. Class size has increased from six or seven students in the first years of the program to 25 in 1993.

Despite the number of successful graduates, high attrition is still a problem. says McNab. The program must offer continuing counseling and

support until the student graduates.

Initial plans for the program were laid in 1976 by the dean of nursing. Financial support was arranged in 1984-85 when Health and Welfare Canada set health careers for Natives as a funding priority. The program continues to receive yearly federal funding.

Mair successfully completed the program and graduated from the College of Nursing this spring. Today, she's a nurse with the Saskatoon Health Unit.

Programs in support of Aboriginal students also exist in the colleges

of Agriculture, Arts & Science, Dentistry, Education, Law and Medicine, and in the division of Extension. At Spring convocation, University of Saskatchewan President George Ivany announced a panel to address institutional issues with respect to the education of Aboriginal students.