Nursing

Nursing is more than a calling—it’s a respected industry filled with highly skilled professionals with extensive medical knowledge. It’s also part of a booming job market. Ontario alone needs 26,000 more registered nurses, just to keep on par with the rest of the country. The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario projects a need for 33,000 more nurses and personal support workers by 2028, and Canada’s Job Bank estimates there will be 155,400 new registered nursing and registered psychiatric nursing job openings between 2022 and 2031. Competitive starting salaries add to the appeal: RNs can earn $72,000 upon entering the field.

Both colleges and universities offer four-year bachelor’s degrees in nursing. Most have direct-entry programs for students right after high school; many also offer accelerated or advanced-standing programs for applicants with prior post-secondary education. Some schools, including the University of Toronto, only offer an accelerated two-year program. Biology, chemistry, English and advanced functions are among the core requirements for aspiring nursing undergrads, along with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Most applications also require supplementary materials; depending on the school, this might include a written and video-recorded response, or a completed Casper assessment, a situational judgment test that gauges non-academic strengths like empathy, emotional intelligence, communication, collaboration and cultural sensitivity. 

While many nurses spend their careers in hospitals, a nursing degree can be a pathway to opportunities beyond the front line, like public health or advocacy. Scholarly minded students can pursue a Ph.D. and become university professors or academic researchers. Others can level up their career—and help ease the pain of the national family doctor shortage—by getting a master’s degree to become a registered nurse practitioner, or NP. Nurse practitioners provide primary care, like diagnosing illnesses, treating broken limbs and prescribing medications in hospitals, clinics and other community settings, and can earn as much as $140,000 a year (or more).

When choosing a program, students should consider the type of nursing work they hope to engage in—for example, working in long-term care versus a career in pediatrics. Regardless of which specialty nurses gravitate to, first-year students are guaranteed a strong health and social sciences foundation while developing their clinical skills. They practise on computerized “manikins” that simulate real-life medical emergencies—such as giving birth and heart attacks—and work with standardized patients (or actors pretending to be patients). 

Students should also consider their prospective university’s number and type of placement opportunities. For example, McGill has 174 clinical sites throughout the province, including acute care hospitals, family medicine groups, and community palliative care residences, to name a few. McMaster, meanwhile, is affiliated with two hospital systems, each including several hospitals (including one right on campus) and numerous community health-care facilities in Waterloo and surrounding areas. Students spend a set number of hours per week in various clinic settings at local hospitals and in the community, honing their skills. In the latter stages of most nursing programs, they’re assigned a nurse preceptor who they shadow full-time for around four months. Some students complete their placements locally, while others return home or accept a placement abroad. They should factor in travel time and whether they have access to a car when looking at schools. At McMaster, placements are frequently in neighbouring towns and cities, and students are responsible for their own travel. At Queen’s, meanwhile, most are within walking distance of the campus or on a bus route.

Working in health care can take a toll on a practitioner’s mental health. Nursing schools take mental health seriously, offering various wellness services on campus. Canada’s largest nurses’ union, the Ontario Nurses’ Association, has a robust anti-oppression and anti-racism action plan, with inclusive, anti-racism practices embedded in nursing education. Graduating students are expected to provide competent care to a wide range of culturally diverse groups. 

No matter which school they choose, aspiring nurses can look forward to a comprehensive and well-rounded learning experience that prepares them for real-world care.

Standout Nursing Programs

Laurentian University

Degree: Bachelor of science in nursing

Programming in both English and French differentiate Laurentian University’s nursing program. Located in Sudbury, Ontario, the school reserves at least 10 of the 78 English spots, and a few of its 30 French spots, each year for First Nations, Métis or Inuit students as part of a tri-cultural mandate. The program features small class sizes and integrates social, health and nursing sciences into classroom and laboratory simulations. Clinical placements in the Sudbury area start in first year. Fourth-year students can take master’s level courses.

Queen’s University

Degree: Bachelor of nursing science

Queen’s University’s nursing program is lauded for its experiential learning and student life experience. It’s also known for its students’ high pass rate on the NCLEX-RN exam, the test to become a registered nurse in Canada. Beginning in second year, students complete rotating clinical and community placements in a variety of nursing settings. There are opportunities in third year for hands-on experience in mental health, maternity, pediatrics and medical/surgical areas. 

University of Alberta

Degree: Bachelor of science in nursing

U of A students can begin their degree at an affiliate school such as Red Deer Polytechnic, Keyano College in Fort McMurray, or Northwestern Polytechnic in Grande Prairie, and complete the degree in Edmonton or remain on the smaller campus. The school also offers a bilingual bachelor of science in nursing program for studying nursing in English and French.

University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus

Degree: Bachelor of science in nursing

The University of British Columbia’s nursing program, offered at its Okanagan campus in Kelowna, offers one of the province’s few direct-entry four-year bachelor of science in nursing programs. This makes it ideal for students who know right out of high school that nursing is the path for them. Students benefit from of a degree from a large, well-known institution and state-of-the art labs and simulation technology, all while studying on a smaller campus with close ties to the health-care community.

McMaster University

Degree: Bachelor of science in nursing

Mac’s four-year bachelor of science in nursing program at features clinical placements that start in second year and increase in length and intensity, ending with 36 hours a week for the final six weeks of the program. This hands-on training fits well with McMaster’s model of student-driven learning: students are encouraged to collaborate with colleagues to come up with solutions during simulation scenarios, a practice that teaches future nurses to think on their feet and problem-solve under pressure.