Practicums for second and third-year TRU nursing students were cancelled (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Chad Klassen

COVID-19 TRU NURSING

TRU nursing students able to apply for work on frontlines after practicums cancelled

Apr 9, 2020 | 12:50 PM

KAMLOOPS — Healthcare workers are needed more than ever amidst the pandemic. But some of the help provided by TRU nursing students has been missing during a critical time.

The COVID-19 pandemic not only cancelled in-person classes at Thompson Rivers University, but it also cancelled practicums for some students in the nursing program.

“What we did, like many other schools, is we paused pretty much all of our clinical placements, except for our final-year students in the Baccalaureate program,” said TRU Dean of Nursing Rani Srivastava.

That meant cutting practicums short for second and third-year students. The School of Nursing, however, deemed it too important to stop clinical practice for seniors.

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“Because they’re so close to finishing, they actually are a big help, and we were hearing very much from our practice partners not to pull students out. It was a thoughtful decision-making process and I think we’ve landed in a good place,” noted Srivastava. “We also want the students to finish and graduate and get out in the workforce.”

Tracey Beherrell is happy the school allowed graduating students like her to carry on with clinical practices. But she says not everyone has been able to keep practicing.

“Some of the students are experiencing more difficulty with the COVID-19 because of immunocompromised family members at home or daycare or other issues that have come up for them,” said Beherrell.

She had no issues during her practicum at the Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre and has felt safe amid COVID-19. But she says it is definitely an intense way to start a career.

“It takes at least four months for a new grad nurse to be comfortable in their position, and now you add on the pandemic and there’s a lot more unsettledness,” noted Beherrell.

Despite cancelled clinical placements, first and second-year students are able to work as care aids and and healthcare screeners where needed. The third-year students are applying to become employed student nurses at Royal Inland Hospital and other healthcare facilities around the city.

“As nurses, or future nurses, this is what we’ve signed up for,” said Srivastava. “We have knowledge and skills that we can be contributing to the community and the wider healthcare sector, so it’s important for us to be there as part of the workforce where we can.”