Portage la Prairie has been announced as the next site for the Assiniboine Community College's rotating Practical Nursing program.

It begins in September of this year.

Associate Dean of Health Programs Suzanne Nicolas says the college is funded for two rural rotating sites.

"They rotate from community to community on the basis of a very extensive assessment that is being conducted as these sites become available," says Nicolas. "So, a practical nursing program is a two-year program. In essence then, every two years, we would go through an RSP process to identify a rural rotating site."

Suzanne Nicolas Associate Dean H HShe notes criteria includes questions about what the community needs are, are there vacancies of licensed practical nurses in the region, is there an extensive use of agency nurses to meet the needs of the communities -- to meet the needs of health care facilities, and if there are physical spaces in which we can deliver the training program.

"Typically, we have 25 students grouped into groups of anywhere from three to six," adds Nicolas. "That means we need quite a few clinical places throughout the two-year program. That's detrimental to the selection of a rural rotating site. Proposals were received by the end of November. Portage was announced last Friday, actually."

Applications for Portage open up on May 4 to 22nd. A lottery system will treat all applicants fairly in a three -week window, but applicants who live in a 100-kilometre radius of Portage will be given preference in the first draw.

You can go to their website to apply at assiniboine.net/nursing