Nursing education has a rich and interesting history in the City of Pembroke.
It begins in 1916, when Sister St. Elizabeth of the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception founded the Lorrain School of Nursing, named in memory of Bishop Lorrain of the Pembroke Diocese.
Sister St. Elizabeth was a graduate of the Youville School of Nursing at the Ottawa General Hospital, where she completed her studies in 1911. The Youville School had an even longer history dating back to the 1700s when Marguerite d'Youville worked with the poor and sick in Quebec, nursing patients in some of the first hospitals, and who went on to found the Sisters of Charity or the "Grey Nuns" as they eventually became known.
Pembroke's First Graduates
Pembroke's first graduating class from the Lorrain School was in May of 1919. In subsequent years, the Lorrain School trained hundreds of nurses over the next six decades until nursing education was transferred to the Ontario College system in the early 1970s.
Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley (Pembroke Campus) began training nurses in 1974 and up until 2001, the College offered a 3-year Diploma Nursing program. In 2003, it began offering a 4-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree program in collaboration with the University of Ottawa. The change to a degree program was mandated by the province of Ontario, phasing out the dipoma nursing programs in the Ontario College system, and requiring that all new nursing graduates obtain a minimum B.Sc.N. degree to practice as a registered nurse in the province.
On May 31, 2008, history was made again when the first 12 graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program received their Degrees from College President, Robert Gillett. It was the first time in the long history of the Pembroke Campus that degrees were awarded.
 Gisele Shields, a retired faculty member of the Nursing Department at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley holds the distinction of having taught every graduate of the Diploma Nursing program at Algonquin during her tenure at the College. Shields retired with the last graduating class of the Diploma Nursing program in the spring of 2004. Shields was also a graduate of the Lorrain School and began her career as a teacher shortly after graduating. She transferred to the College's Nursing faculty when the Lorrain School suspended operations and nursing education was transferred to Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley.
Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley has also offered the Practical Nursing program for many years. What began as a one-year certificate expanded to a 2-year college diploma program in 2002, just as the educational credential to become a registered nurse was changed from a diploma to a degree. The majority of Registered Nurses and Registered Practical Nurses who work at health care facilities throughout Renfrew County were trained by Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley or the former Lorrain School of Nursing.
Algonquin College also offers the Personal Support Worker program, a 32-week program that focuses on one-to-one patient care and responsibilities that include the personal needs of the patients. With the aging population and the need for health care workers at a peak, Personal Support Workers have become an essential part of the professional health care team. The majority of their careers are dedicated to the hands-on care of seniors in long-term care facilities, hospitals, private care facilities, and health care placement agencies.
Health Care Profession Evolves
As health care has developed and changed over the years to meet the needs of the patients and the health care system, the education of health care workers has also continued to evolve. The designations of home support worker and health care aide were eventually phased out as more training and education was required. Those employees working in the field as home support workers and health care aides were required to upgrade their skills through bridging programs, continuing education courses, and other training, and have continued to make a valuable contribution to the health care community and the patients they serve.
There are many employment opportunities available in the health care profession. If you are looking for a career in a 'caring' profession where you can make a difference to the quality of life of your patients, then you will find work in the health care field to be both personally challenging and rewarding.
For more information on the three health care programs offered at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley, Pembroke, Ontario, click on the links below:
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program: 4 year Collaborative Degree with University of Ottawa
Practical Nursing Program: 2 year program
Personal Support Worker Program: 32 week program
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