UNB shows off new nursing facilities

[cougarnurse]

dailygleaner.com - UNB shows off new nursing facilities | By ADAM BOWIE - Breaking News, New Brunswick, Canada

The recent expansion of MacLaggan Hall will help keep the University of New Brunswick's faculty of nursing competitive with other training facilities across the country.

University officials marked the official dedication of the expanded hall Tuesday by taking Fredericton MP Keith Ashfield, Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour Minister Donald Arseneault and other guests on a tour of the new facilities.

The $2.7-million project expanded the building to include a new wing that faces Windsor Street and measures about 790 square metres (8,500 square-feet).

The wing includes a 135-seat auditorium, high-tech classrooms, additional office space and an updated skills lab that will allow nursing students to get hands-on experience. The building also offers improved accessibility for students and teachers with disabilities.

Dean of nursing Janice Thompson said enrolment at the university has increased by the equivalent of about 54 full-time students since 2005, so the expansion will go a long way towards meeting the growing demands.
She said the new wing will allow the university to train more graduate students, who will be able to help train future classes.

"Without adequate faculty-succession planning or preparation of faculty members, we struggle with being able to admit and sustain those numbers," she said.

"So now with space that is dedicated to support graduate students and with a program of study in nurse education, we're addressing that problem."

Thompson said better equipment and a new layout will make UNB an attractive option for nursing students for years to come.

"Our skills lab had not been renovated for over 40 years," she said.
"The technology has progressed quite a bit since then, and we're very happy to have been able to update (our resources) in that way."

The project was made possible through $1.6 million in federal funding from the University Infrastructure Improvement Program, $375,000 in provincial money and a $725,000 contribution from UNB.

Ashfield, who is also the minister in charge of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, toured the skills lab and watched a couple of nursing students conduct a demonstration with a dummy.

He said UNB has trained a large percentage of New Brunswick's nurses and the expanded facility will improve students' educational experiences.
"This will go a long way towards getting more nurses trained and into the system," he said.

"It's a great facility - state-of-the-art, in fact. It'll allow us to provide them the latest techniques and opportunities in the nursing profession."