Rural nursing grad follows in mother's footsteps

Wainwright program sees students complete degree close to home

Story & photo by Gayleen Froese

WAINWRIGHT — Brand-new Bachelor of Nursing grad Tyra Smith knew for many years that she wanted to be a rural nurse, just like her mom. “I saw her build this sense of community, and how she really knew her patients,” she says. “That was the kind of nurse I wanted to be.”

This April, Smith celebrated the completion of a home-grown program that allows residents within 120 km of Wainwright to earn their nursing degree close to home.

The Bachelor of Nursing Program — Rural Community program at the Wainwright Health Centre is a partnership of the Government of Alberta, Alberta Health Services (AHS), the University of Calgary (UCalgary) and Wainwright Economic Development.

Launched with eight students in 2021, this year’s class graduated seven students. Program participants take virtual courses through UCalgary and complement their education with hands-on training at the health centre in Wainwright.

Local business Bumper-to-Bumper sponsors the classroom space to house the program. Community support also comes from the Wainwright and District Community Health Foundation, Hardisty Auxiliary Guild, the Viking Health Foundation, the Provost and District Health Services Foundation, Red Deer Regional Health Foundation and others.

The Wainwright and District Community Health Foundation and the Town of Wainwright stepped up to support a local graduation celebration.

“We love having this program at the Wainwright Health Centre,” says Murray Weber, site manager, Wainwright Community Health Services.

“It lets the students work closely with nearby health centres, and it’s exciting to see them start new careers — especially since many of them choose to stay in rural communities.”

Smith says she found the small class size attractive. “You really get to know everyone in your class and at the hospital.”

No one was more excited to see Smith succeed in the program than her mom, Kristine Osetsky, a rural emergency clinical nurse specialist with Professional Practice and Rural Education.

Osetsky built on her original education in one of the last diploma-trained registered nurse (RN) programs to earn her post-RN Bachelor of Science Nursing degree and a Master of Nursing degree.

Will Smith follow in her mom’s footsteps and head back to school? For now, she says she’s eager to leave school and start her career. A more formal graduation ceremony is set for June 6 in Calgary.

But her mom, the voice of experience, says you never can tell. “I said the same thing — that I’d never go back to school after I graduated. But I’ve gone back twice — and I’m heading back again.”

Whatever her daughter chooses down the road, achieving her education in Wainwright has set her up for success — and got her off to a great start.