For Immediate Release

November 16, 2005

McGUINTY GOVERNMENT IMPROVING EDUCATION FOR NURSES

New Clinical Simulators To Provide Hands-On Clinical Practice

KINGSTON – The McGuinty government is improving the education of nurses by investing $600,000 for St. Lawrence College to purchase clinical simulation equipment, MPP John Gerretsen announced today on behalf of Health and Long-Term Care Minister George Smitherman.

“Nurses play a critical role in patient care in our community, said Gerretsen. “This investment will ensure that nurses who train through St. Lawrence College and Queens University are educated with the most up-to-date equipment to give our residents the best possible care.”

The funding is part of $10 million being provided by the government to nursing schools across the province. The schools will use these funds to purchase equipment for simulation labs, which will be used to teach clinical and patient assessment skills to nursing students.

This is the second consecutive year that funding is being made available to nursing schools for the purchase of clinical simulators. Last year Queen’s University received an investment of $597,529 for the purchase of simulator equipment.

This is part of the government’s $145 million nursing strategy, which aims to improve access to full-time employment opportunities and to enhance working conditions for nurses in Ontario’s hospitals.

Clinical simulators - which come in all sizes from babies to children to adults - are anatomically correct computer-run mannequins designed to exhibit signs and symptoms of injury and responses to treatments just as a human does.

“Clinical simulation equipment is invaluable in helping nursing students to learn clinical and patient assessment skills,” said Smitherman. “These simulators enable students to mimic a real-life situation while learning to work their way through a clinical problem.”

This initiative is part of the McGuinty government’s plan to build a health care system that delivers of three priorities – providing better access to doctors and nurses, keeping Ontarians healthy and reducing wait times.

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Contact: John Gerretsen, MPP

(613) 547-2385