Student success: focus on the NCBNursing program

Northwest Community College students have great stories to tell. Get to know the future of the Northwest's workforce now.

Susanna Ellert, first year student in the Northern Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Program.

Originally from Germany, I worked for two years in a small village in the Andes in Bolivia as a healthcare worker before I came to Canada in 1986. I was certified as a labour coach in Ontario and considered midwifery for a while, but the pull into the wilderness won out and I eventually settled in Cedarvale in 1998.

For the past 20 years, I have worked primarily in the logging industry, mostly as a faller and was certified as a faller in 2004. I had an Industrial First Aid ticket and later an OFA Level 3 ticket, but that was my only official involvement with healthcare since 1990. With the downsizing in the logging industry, especially regarding local employment for fallers, I had to make some changes.

Since I am not a city person, I was looking for a change that would still enable me to work in a remote northern community. I realized the demand for outpost nurses in the Territories and decided the nursing program at NWCC, with its emphasis on northern and remote nursing, was a perfect choice for me. That it was local was, of course, another advantage.

I a bit embarrassed to admit it, but my first inspiration for this field of study actually came from the TV show North of 60 and the character of Sarah being a nurse in a First Nations community. What started out as a tease from a neighbour led eventually to the encouragement from several neighbours and my children and, eventually, my application and acceptance.

Since I started, I have come to appreciate the small class sizes and care and support that come with attending a small college. Fellow students and faculty have shown a real commitment to help everyone succeed.

I plan to work in the Yukon or Nunavut after I graduate and plan to spend many years in the North, getting familiar with the culture and doing a meaningful job away from a major centre.