In a campaign launched on Monday, CEGEPs are defending their nursing techniques and responding to the “offensive” led by the Order of Nurses of Quebec (OIIQ), which advocates the baccalaureate as the only gateway to occupation.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The Coalition for the maintenance of the DEC qualifying in nursing, which brings together many important players in the college environment, wants to restore the image of the technique in nursing.
His campaign I treat with my DEC “aims to remind that the training offered in CEGEPs is based on high-level expertise and provides quality services,” says the President and CEO of the Federation of CEGEPs, Bernard Tremblay.
In recent years, CEGEPs have observed a decline in registrations in nursing programs. The Coalition partly blames the charge led by the OIIQ, which wants to make the baccalaureate compulsory for nurses, as it is in the rest of Canada. A report on the Estates General of the profession tabled in September came to the same recommendation.
The main argument is that by upgrading their training, aspiring nurses would better meet the needs of the population. However, the technique is as qualifying as the baccalaureate, answers Bernard Tremblay. Moreover, the position of the OIIQ and its allies is “damaging and counterproductive”.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Bernard Tremblay, President and CEO of the Fédération des cégeps
In a context of labor shortage, Quebec must have the greatest number of nurses, “a majority of whom come from college training”.
The other main entry point to the profession is the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, preceded by a pre-university DEC. It is also possible to complete a DEC-bac, which involves only two years of university studies.
The DEC in nursing, offered in 46 of the 48 CEGEPs in Quebec, nevertheless remains the most accessible route to the profession, supports the Coalition.
“We have the impression that it is always a discourse that denigrates the value of the CED, but we find that it still has all its value, all its relevance”, defends Yves de Repentigny, spokesperson for the Federation. National Association of Teachers of Quebec.
Quebec must reaffirm the merits of CED, according to the Coalition
In its campaign, the Coalition calls on the Government of Quebec to clearly reaffirm the merits of the DEC in nursing, and to put an end once and for all to this continual debate.
Last October, the Ministry of Higher Education announced the “modernization” of college nursing education. The college community, which had been calling for an update of the program for years, welcomed it, but did not let its guard down.
Quebec is sorely lacking in nurses. But what will happen if the shortage is reduced? “We are always on a tightrope. We never have a final decision,” laments Mr. de Repentigny.