Algonquin’s nursing programs are located in Ottawa, Ontario at the University of Ottawa, on Algonquin’s Campus on Woodruff St., on the college’s Pembroke Campus, and at the Perley & Rideau Veterans Health Centre. 

The school offers a variety of programs: Practical Nursing Pathway for Personal Support Worker (Diploma); Practical Nursing (Diploma); an Academic Pathway for Movement from Ontario College Diploma in Practical Nursing to BScN; and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree (which is a collaborative program).

The collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree program helps you develop the skills to enter the field of nursing. This program prepares you to take on the role of Registered Nurse – offering quality care in the healthcare system.

The collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program helps you develop the skills to enter the field of nursing. This program prepares you to take on the role of Registered Nurse – offering quality care in the healthcare system. 

In this program, you experience classroom, laboratory and clinical learning in a wide variety of settings. Key program outcomes include developing critical thinking and communication skills, as you become a professional nurse who solves problems as part of healthcare teams. 

This is a four-year program offered in collaboration with the University of Ottawa. You experience both theoretical and applied courses that help you succeed. You may choose to study at either: 

• University of Ottawa 
• Algonquin College (Ottawa Campus) 
• Algonquin College (Pembroke Campus) 

Those studying at Algonquin College (Ottawa campus) take some of their courses in the first year at the University of Ottawa. Those studying at Algonquin College (Pembroke campus) take all of their classes in Pembroke. 

Regardless of the location chosen, all successful students graduate with a BScN from the University of Ottawa. Graduates are eligible to write the NCLEX to become a Registered Nurse in Canada. As a graduate, you contribute to the development of nursing as an art and as a science. Following graduation, you may pursue graduate studies.

BScN graduates are in high demand and may work in hospitals, community health agencies, long-term care facilities, private practice and a variety of other settings across Canada and around the world.

School of Health Studies Commitment to Truth and Reconciliation

Algonquin College School of Health Studies 

At Algonquin College, several initiatives are being undertaken to promote home grown, authentic strategies related to reconciliation in health care, focusing on integrating Indigenous perspectives and addressing historical injustices. For example: 

Educational Initiatives 

1. Incorporating Indigenous history, culture and health practices into the curriculum of health care education programs through engaged partnerships between nursing programs and Indigenous pedagogy faculty and employees. This ensures that future health care providers are well-equipped to deliver culturally competent care. 
2. The College will be engaging with its Sharing Circle in the development of learning bundles and resources, as well as identifying potential clinical 
3. placement opportunities. For example, over the Winter 2025 Term, we will be actively working on developing a series of learning bundles in partnership with a former nurse who has worked with Indigenous groups in Ontario and Quebec and is a member of the Sharing Circle. This nurse is also an Elder within her community. As well, a Professor from Algonquin Indigenous Pedagogy and Learning and Teaching Services and members of the Nursing Studies faculty will be working together on this initiative. 

Promoting Policy and Systems Change

As a college, we are actively revising policies to ensure they are inclusive of Indigenous health practices and knowledge. This includes creating frameworks that support culturally safe care environments. 

Engaging with our Communities

Active collaboration with Indigenous communities through a Listening to Action Sharing Circle to understand their health needs and incorporate their input into health care planning and delivery, helping to build trust and ensure that services are relevant and respectful. We have established and engaged community partners, Elders, agency leaders and employees who provide health care and support services to Indigenous people in our local community and region through a Listening to Action Sharing Circle. By bringing together individuals actively involved in this work, the Circle aims to foster dialogue, collaboration and actionable outcomes, including focused workshops and professional development activities, learning bundles, clinical placements and authentic simulation-based learning activities. These efforts continue to inform the ongoing development and shaping of the Nursing program, bringing the spirit of Truth and Reconciliation to life. 

Anti-Racism and Cultural Safety Education 

Health care professionals are receiving training on anti-racism and cultural safety to better understand and address the unique challenges faced by Indigenous patients. This education aims to reduce biases and improve the quality of care. 

College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) Entry to Practice Competencies Related to Truth and Reconciliation 

Overview: 

The Entry to Practice Competencies are the foundation for both nursing practice and curriculum development. The College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) accredits nursing education programs based on their demonstration of how these competencies are embedded, applied, and evaluated in program design and delivery. The Algonquin Practical Nurse and University of Ottawa/Algonquin Collaborative BScN programs have been evaluated by the CNO and accredited as meeting these competencies. 

Relevant Competencies: 

The following competencies, as described by the CNO Entry to Practice Competencies, are particularly relevant to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and the integration of Indigenous ways of knowing and perspectives: 

Competencies Directly Related to Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action: 

• 6.1: Acquires knowledge of the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 
• 7.3: Advocates for the use of Indigenous health knowledge and healing practices in collaboration with Indigenous healers and Elders, consistent with the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 

Competencies Associated with Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action: 

• 1.1: Provides safe, ethical, competent, compassionate, client-centred, and evidence-informed nursing care across the lifespan in response to client needs. 
• 1.26: Adapts practice in response to the spiritual beliefs and cultural practices of clients. 
• 2.3: Identifies the influence of personal values, beliefs, and positional power on clients and the health care team and acts to reduce bias and influences. 
• 6.7: Takes action to support culturally safe practice environments. 
• 7.4: Advocates for health equity for all, particularly for vulnerable and/or diverse clients and populations. 
• 7.8: Supports healthy public policy and principles of social justice. 
• 7.14: Uses knowledge of health disparities and inequities to optimize health outcomes for all clients. 

Legislative Context: These competencies are mandated under the legislative umbrella of the Ontario Regulated Health Professionals Act (1991).

Algonquin College

TRI Statement:

Throughout the planning journey, we incorporated Indigenous knowledge and storytelling to help ground and focus our work. We adopted the approach of Two-Eyed Seeing, a research method developed by Albert Marshall, a Mi’kmaq Elder, and researchers at Cape Breton University. With this approach, we examine the world around us with both Western and Indigenous perspectives. Just as when we see with two eyes at once, we discover more depth and detail by incorporating an Indigenous approach. According to Elder Marshall, the Indigenous perspective “is about life: what you do, what kind of responsibilities you have, how you should live while on Earth … i.e., a guiding principle that covers all aspects of our lives: social, economic, environmental, etc. The advantage of Two-Eyed Seeing is that you are always fine tuning your mind into different places at once, you are always looking for another perspective and better way of doing things.”

We need to continue to integrate Indigenous practices throughout our work. Rather than having a single goal related to Truth and Reconciliation or Indigeneity, we must be committed to adapting our processes and practices to honour and reflect Indigenous ways of knowing. We need to extend the Two-Eyed Seeing approach into all that we do.”

Strategic Plan 2022 – 2025

We have embedded the AC Way approach to continuous improvement across the College, and we have made significant progress in our commitments to responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. 

The AC Way approach, which is informed by Indigenous knowledge, guides College units through process improvements, applying the plan-do-study-adjust process so that we are constantly innovating, testing and learning. 

Call to Action # 24

We call upon medical and nursing schools in Canada to require all students to take a course dealing with Aboriginal health issues, including the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Treaties and Aboriginal rights, and Indigenous teachings and practices. This will require skills-based training in intercultural competency, conflict resolution, human rights, and anti-racism.

Mandatory Course: Yes. Integrated in multiple courses.

The impact of Residential Schools is addressed in several courses throughout the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) and Practical Nursing programs. 

For example, the residential school system is integrated into the first year BScN Determinants of Health course. The third year Ethics course includes an assignment exploring the prevalence and impact of health inequities and access to care, with a focus on Indigenous health and trauma-informed care. The Level 2 Practical Nurse Research course examines the impact of the residential school system and issues of consent and abuse. 

HSS1101 Determinants of Health 3 credits

Introduction to Health Sciences including models and concepts of health and wellness, illness and disease. Biological, psychobehavioural, socio-political and environmental determinants of health will be examined. 

NSG3127 Nursing Professionalism and Ethics 3 credits

Scope and standards of nursing practice. In-depth examination of ethical and legal practice situations and dilemmas. Emphasis on values clarification, professional image, professional socialization and inter-professional practice.

NSG5123 Nursing Research

Nursing practice is informed by a variety of evidence. Learners are introduced to the knowledge and skills necessary to support the development of evidence-informed practice. Emphasis is placed on valuing nursing research and evidence-informed practice, ethics of research and locating and critiquing research to inform practice. Learners engage in both classroom and online learning.

Course description: BScN courses. Practical Nursing courses

School of Nursing Commitment to Call to Action # 24: 2 out of 5 = 40%

1. Aboriginal health issues
Yes. No explicit reference
2. The history and legacy of residential schools
Yes. No explicit reference
3. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
No. No explicit reference
4. Treaties and Aboriginal rights
No. No explicit reference
5. Indigenous teachings and Practice
No. No explicit reference

Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing’s “Statement” of apology for colonial harms resulting from nursing education

The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) is the national voice for nursing education, research, and scholarship and represents baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs across Canada. CASN’s mission is to lead nursing education and nursing scholarship in the interest of healthier Canadians.

Dec.11, 2023: We, the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN), wish to express our deepest regret, apologizing to the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples of Canada for harms, historical or contemporary, related to nursing education…Furthermore, we acknowledge that many graduates of Canadian schools of nursing provide care to Indigenous patients that is racist and culturally unsafe…We recognize that these harms have been perpetuated through systemic racism and a failure to incorporate Indigenous perspectives or the impacts of colonialism into nursing curricula. We understand as well, the importance of nursing education in shaping the future of health care, and we deeply regret any instance where CASN’s actions contributed to disparities or reinforced colonial structures.

CASN is committed to a process of self-reflection, learning, and transformation. We will take the following steps to address the harms:

1. Anti-Racism, Cultural Safety, and Humility: Promote education, resources, and practices that address anti-Indigenous racism, supporting decolonization, cultural humility, and cultural safety for nursing faculty, staff, and students. Promote institutional policies and processes that address systemic racism to foster an inclusive and equitable learning environment.
2. Curriculum Revision: Promote a review of nursing education curricula to ensure a strengths-based focus and trauma-informed approach, the inclusion of content on the continued impact of colonialism and racism on Indigenous health, as well as Indigenous perspectives on health and well-being.
3. Community Engagement: Establish meaningful partnerships with Indigenous organizations and communities to ensure their voices are heard in shaping nursing education policies and practices.
4. Recruitment and Retention: Promote strategies that create culturally safe and supportive learning environments including pre-admission supports, in-program supports, and services that are developed in partnership with Indigenous communities.
5. Ongoing Accountability: In collaboration with Indigenous partners, establish mechanisms to monitor progress and address concerns raised by partners, Indigenous nursing students, and faculty.

Land Acknowledgement: 

The School of Health’s webpage does not include a land acknowledgement. 

The college has a land acknowledgement in its Truth and Reconciliation webpage and on its diversity webpage. 

At Algonquin College, we recognize that we live and work on the traditional territory of the Algonquin people, and that we welcome learners from all across Turtle Island. We are committed to respecting that heritage and making Indigenous values part of how the College operates.

As of Fall 2024, a revised land acknowledgement is now included in all course outlines with considerations for meaningful integration into teaching and learning at Algonquin College. This revision was completed in collaborative partnership with Elders and Knowledge Keepers from the Anishinàbe Algonquin Nation, as well as Algonquin College leadership.

NOTE: All content has been submitted to the respective faculty for validation to ensure accuracy and currency as of the time of posting. The Algonquin College School of Health Studies: Nursing reviewed and approved the document. Managing Editor: Douglas Sinclair: Publisher, Indigenous Watchdog Research Assistant:  Timothy Maton

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