Diploma Practical Nursing

Please Note: The Practical Nursing program is subject to the competitive admission process, and the application period is now closed.

It opens for application on October 1, and closes on February 15, each academic year. On February 15, paper applications are accepted until 4:30 p.m., and online applications are accepted until 11:59 p.m. (Saskatchewan times). All supporting documentation is required by 4:30 p.m. (Saskatchewan time) on March 1.

Licensed Practical Nurses are a vital part of today's health care team - in acute hospital care, long-term care and in the community. They provide compassionate, professional nursing care to individuals throughout the human lifespan, infants to seniors. If this sounds interesting to you, explore Saskatchewan Polytechnic's Practical Nursing program. In just two years, we’ll help you develop into a competent, confident nurse capable of making a positive difference in the health and well-being of individuals, their families and our communities.

Practical Nursing is a two-year diploma program offered at Sask Polytech Saskatoon Campus, Regina Campus, and Prince Albert Campus, with online distance learning options. Onsite labs and community-based clinical practice education experiences let you apply nursing knowledge, theory and skills in a variety of environments.

The program is a sequential 6-semester program allowing the concepts from one semester to be built on in subsequent semesters. The 6 semesters run over 76 weeks, over a 2-year period. Classes are designed to meet diverse learning styles.

Our experienced faculty help you grow into a competent, confident nurse capable of bringing a holistic, humanistic approach to patient care. You'll study:

Courses are delivered in a blended model which comprise of onsite face-to-face and online course delivery. Our instructors engage with students through a variety of instructional methods such as seminars, observational experiences, pre- and post-clinical conferences, small group presentations, lectures, demonstrations, role-playing, storytelling, discussion, reflective thinking and writing and simulation lab experiences.

Opportunities for critical reflection about caring-based practice, development of employability skills and understanding the role and scope of practice of the licensed practical nurse (LPN) are blended into the program's learning activities.

The clinical practice education courses are integrative in nature, and, as such, the evaluation of your performance in the clinical setting involves evaluating the application of the theoretical concepts learned in all other courses. This is what ultimately determines your progress toward achieving the competencies of the beginning practical nurse.

The focus of each semester is as follows:

Note: Students who have previously completed the following courses may be eligible to receive transfer credit upon acceptance into the program: BIOL 102, BIOL 103, SOCI 160, SOCI 201.

For more information about the program, including the admission process and program requirements, refer to the Admission Requirements and Selection Criteria sections below, and to our program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

If you have questions about this program, please email practicalnursing@saskpolytech.ca.

Apply what you learn in class and gain real-world experience in actual health-care settings.