by Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

NNSL (DEC 16/96) - Karin Binder says she wouldn't have been able to become a nurse had it not been for the NWT's new training program.

"I wouldn't have gone down south to do the training because it's too difficult to be without your family," she said.

At 33, Binder has wanted to become a nurse since graduating from high school, but never had the opportunity to enter training.

She is one of 11 nurses graduating this month from the NWT's first class of nurses at Aurora College in Yellowknife.

Denise Bowen, chair of health programs at Aurora College, said that these Northern nurses will provide more continuity for patients in the NWT.

"I think what it will mean is less turnover in nurses, and this will mean more stability," she said.

These nurses, who are from across the Arctic, may even be better trained than nurses from the South.

The NWT Nurses Association has approved the program, and has said that it's as good as or better than programs in the South.

The students have received specialized training in Northern health issues such as country food nutrition and midwifery. They also received in-depth instruction in substance abuse and counselling.

Maggie Jacobs, 26, said that nurses from the North will be better able to deal with patients from across the Arctic.

"We have a good understanding of the people and of the different cultures," she said. "And the majority of patients who come here for health care are aboriginal. I understand where they are coming from."

Like Binder, Jacobs said that she would have waited to enter nursing training if she had to study down south.

"I probably wouldn't have gone when I did," she said. "I would have waited until my children got older."

Jacobs has wanted to become a nurse for 10 years. She is ecstatic to be part of the North's first graduating class of nurses.

The employment situation for these new nurses is also good, according to Bowen.

"They will probably start out with part-time casual work, but they'll have a better chance of getting full-time work than those down south," she said.

After this year's class finishes, 55 more students are slated to finish the program over the next two years.