“This gift from The Joyce Family Foundation is a crucial investment in experiential learning for nursing students and will enable them to develop hands-on skills and knowledge,” says Dr. Jane Philpott, Dean of Queen's Health Sciences. “This endowment will support a diversity of training opportunities, including student placements in community health, long-term care, medical surgery, maternity, pediatrics, and public health. One of our priorities is to have clinical impact in communities and this will stretch our impact, both in terms of geography and fields of health care.” 

Despite the expansion of nursing program seats at Queen’s, the availability of health placements in Kingston isn't always enough to meet the needs of every new nursing cohort. Many students experience financial challenges when they seek placements outside Kingston, a hurdle this fund aims to address. 

“Canada urgently needs more nurses. Queen’s University has answered this call – increasing the number of seats in our nursing programs and investing in additional supports to ensure that our graduates are ready and able to provide the very best person-centred care to their communities,” says Dr. Erna Snelgrove-Clarke, Vice-Dean of Queen’s Health Sciences and Director of the School of Nursing. “This generous gift from The Joyce Family Foundation enables Queen’s nursing undergraduate students to flourish by removing barriers to accessing practicum placements across Ontario.”