St. Lawrence College professors receive grant for project that addresses nursing shortages

This is the first time that faculty at SLC have been awarded a grant from the College and Community Social Innovation Fund.

Two professors at St. Lawrence College are receiving funding for their work on addressing nursing shortages.

Dr. Andrea Rochon and Julie Dyke were awarded a prestigious research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through the College and Community Social Innovation Fund. 

In a news release, the funding will support a province-wide project aimed at changing perceptions of nursing careers in the long-term care sector.  

Shaping Positive Perceptions of Long-Term Care: Linking Educational Innovations with Social Media Strategies to Inspire Future Nurses, is a three-year initiative that aims to address the critical shortage of nurses in Canada’s long-term care sector.  

The project will develop a model to enhance nursing student placements in long-term care homes with nursing and marketing students from St. Lawrence College and other colleges playing a central role in the research, data collection, social media campaign development, and knowledge dissemination. 

St. Lawrence College is collaborating with the Bruyère Health Research Institute, Ontario Centres for Learning, Research and Innovation in Long-Term Care, PREP-LTC, the Ontario LTC Association, AdvantAge Ontario, and several long-term care homes across southeastern Ontario including Providence Manor in Kingston on this project.  

The project is one of 26 across Canada selected for CCSIF funding, and the first time SLC faculty have been awarded the grant. 

Story by Ken Hashizume