Rachel Klok and other nursing school students (photo courtesy Rachel Klok)

By Teagan Rasche

Pandemic challenges not impacting local nursing school demand

Mar 17, 2022 | 4:12 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – For as long as she can remember, Rachel Klok has wanted to be a registered nurse.

“My grandma was a nurse and I absolutely love her and want to be like her,” Klok said. “Spending a lot of time with her and hearing her stories, I became really passionate about wanting to help people through their most difficult times.”

Klok is now in her fourth year of nursing school at Medicine Hat College and a month away from graduation.

But she admits the last three years have been some of the hardest of her life between school and the pandemic.

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“I honestly only know health care with COVID,” Klok said,

Despite the challenges, Klok has only become more passionate about her chosen career.

“Respect for health-care workers and seeing what a burden they hold but they still come every day to help people has really been inspiring,” Klok said.

One of the nursing instructors at MHC feels very similar to Klok. Erin Murdoch loves being able to make a difference in everyday lives.

“Every Canadian needs to access health-care services at some point in their life or someone they know does and teaching students to work with the population who needs to access health is exciting, we get to teach then what the research is showing, we get to show the world that we are really great critical thinkers and can think on our feet,” Murdoch said.

The last two years have been filled with challenges for nurses, from dealing with staffing shortages to being reassigned during the fourth wave. But like Klok, the last few years have only solidified Murdoch’s love for nursing.

“It’s also focused the need on having RNs on the front line to provide that safe and effective care but we need the funding to help support that great staffing levels that can help us provide that care,” Murdoch said.

The provincial budget has allocated funding to expand enrolment in areas with skills shortages including health. Alberta Health Services currently has 626 vacant RN positions.

Murdoch says she is already noticing a tremendous interest in nursing.

“The demand has actually gone up over 28 per cent over the last couple of years and that’s both from applicants within Medicine Hat itself, from the rest of the province and from other provinces surrounding Alberta,” Murdoch said.

So as Klok nears the end of school, there’s no shortage of people after her vacant spot and she can’t wait to start working full time.

“There’s not one definition of what a nurse is,” Klok said. “I think it’s such a broad thing, nurses are amazing they do a little bit of everything.”

She already has a job lined up on the medical/surgical floor after graduation.