College of Licensed Practical Nurses of BC

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The College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia is recognized provincially, nationally, and internationally as a leader in professional nursing regulation and is committed to protection of the public through safe, competent, and ethical practice of its registrants.

The first nurses in Canada were religious women who were summoned from France to take care of the sick and to teach children. The first hospital, the Hotel Dieu in Quebec, was founded in 1639 and staffed by the Sisters of the Order of St. Augustine.

The earliest school for nurses was opened in 1865 at the General and Marine Hospital in St. Catharines, Ontario. It was patterned after the Florence Nightingale program of training nurses-hands-on training in a hospital setting for one year.

By the turn of the century, medicine, hospitals and the public recognized trained nurses as an important part of the health-care team. As early as 1914, the Canadian Nurses Association recognized the value of the practical nurse, specifically in the provision of care to clients at home.

By 1931, there were 4,700 practical nurses in Canada and by 1947, the number had increased to more than 7,900.

Today, there are over 75,000 licensed practical nurses in the country, the second largest group of nurses after registered nurses.

For More Information: http://www.clpnbc.org/index.php?dbq=8

Nursing Resources

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