51��Ƶ

51��Ƶ to enhance nursing degree with unique RN prescribing credential course

June 5, 2025

Starting fall 2025, the College of Nurses Ontario (CNO)-authorized course, Registered Nurse Prescribing Education: Safe and Ethical Practice, will be embedded in Georgian’s four-year Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing degree program.

The college’s undergraduate nursing program is one of three approved in the province to offer this course, amplifying Georgian’s reputation for providing unrivaled student experiences and excellence in nursing education.

This means all graduates from this intake and going forward will have the additional designation as being an authorized RN prescriber noted on the CNO’s public Register, , that states their ability to prescribe medications. The Ministry of Health is supporting 51��Ƶwith a $250,000 grant to integrate the course into the existing curriculum. 

This important advancement supports our ongoing commitment to strengthening Ontario’s health care system by preparing Registered Nurses to practice the full extent of their training and expertise. Our graduates will be equipped with expanded, specialized skills to help meet the evolving needs of our communities while enhancing patient care. It’s an investment in our future health care professionals that will improve access to timely, high-quality care – especially in underserved and growing communities across our region.

– Kevin Weaver, President and CEO, 51��Ƶ

51��Ƶstudent paves the way with a first in Ontario

Last year, 51��Ƶwas one of four postsecondary institutions to launch a new online course that allows registered nurses to prescribe certain medications and communicate diagnoses for the purpose of prescribing those medications to patients. A 51��Ƶstudent, Cyril Lee Turley, became the first registered nurse in Ontario to receive this credential to support patients in his community and lower wait times.

The course will be mandatory for new nursing degree students starting in fall 2025 and current students can still complete the course as an optional micro-credential for free.

“51��Ƶhas a long-standing and successful history as a nursing education provider, always at the forefront of health care innovation – for over 50 years,” says Dr. Sara Lankshear, RN, PhD, Associate Dean, Health, Wellness and Sciences. “This unique prescribing credential course is an impressive differentiator in our degree programming, allowing students to gain all the capabilities of a registered nurse, plus prescribe medications in real time.”

Interested in attending 51��Ƶfor nursing? Applications to the degree program intake in September 2026 will open in October, but it’s not too late to apply for registered practical nursing programs starting in January 2026.