High school graduates and those looking for a career change are being encouraged to consider nursing.

Of the 490 registered nurses on the Island, 62 percent are non-Bermudians.

An information session about Bermuda College’s Associate of Science in Nursing Degree (ADN) is being held on July 3.

Speakers will include Kathy-Ann Swan, the college’s director of nursing education, and members of the Department of Workforce Development, which is co-hosting the event.

“Successful students of the ADN programme will be prepared to work in healthcare agencies such as long-term care centres, hospitals, rehabilitation care facilities, clinics, adult day care centres and physician offices,” Ms Swan said.

“Upon successful completion, graduates will be competitively equipped with the knowledge and competencies to function as a professional nurse and have the ability to apply for licensure through examination.”

The ADN course launched in 2012 and was designed in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Bermuda College and Bermuda Hospitals Board.

Based on an American model of nursing education, the course was developed using the standards of the Accrediting Commission of Nursing Education and the curriculum includes medical, surgical, maternal/child paediatrics, long-term and psychiatric care.

Students will also gain clinical experience overseas during their second year, with up to two weeks at Temple University Hospital and SickKids in Toronto.

A state-of-the-art simulation lab at the Bermuda College campus allows them to practice their skills before they start working with patients.

New students will begin classes in August this year and courses can be completed on a full-time or part-time basis.

Funding can be applied for through the Department of Workforce Development, which struck a deal with Bermuda College in May 2012 to offer a Retraining Scholarships Fund to provide training for Bermudians in areas often filled by foreign workers, such as nursing, accounting and teaching.

An estimated $700,000 has been provided so far to support further education opportunities for Bermudians, which includes the ADN programme.

“Bermuda, like other jurisdictions, is experiencing the impact of the nursing shortage,” said George Outerbridge, director of the Department of Workforce Development. “However, Bermuda has made a commendable start to the global challenge by addressing it as a national issue through the creation of programmes such as these.

“It was critical that we made nursing education more accessible to Bermudian residents, recognising that not everyone could leave the island for long periods of time, which is why the ADN course is structured the way it is — mindful of people’s travel restrictions.”

The course will run from 5.30pm to 6.30pm in room G 301 at the Bermuda College on Thursday, July 3.

For more information contact the director of nursing education at 239 4071 or e-mail kswan@college.bm.