York collaborative nursing program unique in Ontario

York University is celebrating another first in its 40th anniversary year.

In partnership with Seneca and Georgian Colleges, York has established the first collaborative nursing program in Ontario. Students in the program will be arriving at Atkinson College in September, having completed the first two years in the four-year Collaborative BScN Program at one of these two approved partner Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAAT). After successful completion of their last two years here, they will graduate with a BScN (Honours) conferred by York.

York's long road of exploration into a collaborative program began in 1993 with Seneca and in 1995 with Georgian, and culminated with its launch at the College sites in 1997. A major step toward final approval for the launch, according to Kathleen Macdonald, Chair of Nursing at Atkinson, was the development and implementation of an entirely new curriculum which was approved by the York Senate and the Colleges' Boards of Governors.

The three institutions developed the program from scratch, working together. "And we'll continue to work together," said Macdonald. "We value what each partner brings to the collaboration. We all support the pedagogy which is an integral part of the new curriculum. It is a whole philosophy of what nursing education can be, based on the Bevis-Watson Caring Curriculum paradigm and a cooperative learning framework. Faculty of all three partners are committed to developing the necessary pedagogical skills to teach in this paradigm."

She pointed out other ways in which the new program is different from other collaborative arrangements. "The curriculum is totally integrated, although it is delivered in an articulated fashion. The courses build year by year from day one at the Colleges to graduation at the University, and themes run throughout the curriculum. Students spend the first two years at Seneca or Georgian College and the last two years here, full-time. The transition from College to University is virtually seamless, despite a second application process to come to York.

"What distinguishes this Collaborative program is the true partnership which values each partner equally," said Macdonald. "There is equal representation on all committees for the program governance, yet internal governance issues related to each partner are 'site specific'. While students are at a college they are subject to CAAT requirements. When registered at York they are under the University's aegis. In this way, 'ownership' of the student is clear, but the program is coordinated unilaterally."

She said that one of the advantages of the collaborative nursing program is the exposure students get to the values and beliefs of both college and university, "giving them a broader perspective of nursing education and practice. Because of this understanding, we feel students will end up better practitioners, having built on the strengths of nursing education at both types of institutions."