Three New Bursaries Now Available to Support Member Education

January 26, 2024

Bursary funds help ease the financial burden of tuition of members working to advance their nursing careers

BCNU is pleased to announce the creation of three new bursaries to support members undertaking education opportunities to advance their careers:

The Internationally Educated Nurse Bursary will be awarded annually to five internationally-educated nurses to assist with expenses associated with licensing through the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives. Each recipient will receive $1,000.
The Indigenous Member Bursary reflects the union's ongoing support for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's 94 Calls to Action, in particular the call to increase the number of Indigenous professionals in health care. The Indigenous Member Bursary will be awarded annually to five members or student members enrolled in a nursing program in BC. Each recipient will receive $1,000.
The Student Nurse with Disability Bursary will be awarded to student LPNs, RNs, and RPNs who are BCNU student members and identify as a person with a disability. This $1,000 bursary is awarded to one member from each of BCNU’s 16 regions.

Applications are now open for the three new bursaries. Learn more and apply today.

Applications are also open for the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) Scholarship Fund. This is the first year this scholarship is available to BCNU members since the union formally rejoined CFNU, Canada’s largest community of unionized nurses, in 2023. This $1,000 scholarship is intended to assist students in accredited nursing education programs throughout Canada. Please note, for this year (2024) only, we will draw two applicants (for 2023 and 2024) to match the funds provided by the CFNU Scholarship Fund. Thereafter, there will be one applicant drawn per year.

BCNU has also renamed the Member Education Bursary the Debra McPherson Member Education Bursary to recognize the vision and advocacy of BCNU’s longest serving president. The change was first announced at BCNU’s 2023 convention.

Visit our bursaries and funding page for a full list of education funding opportunities.