A pair of Red River College (RRC) Nursing students have returned home with some new hardware and a greater sense of pride in their work. Elyse Griffith (2^nd year) and Rachel Rubin (3^rd year) took first place amongst international student competitors, earning a Silver medal overall, in the 7^th annual International Nursing Competition held in Shanghai, China.
“Being able to participate in this competition was an incredible experience, and I know I will be a better nurse for having participated,” said Rubin. “I was proud of how we represented RRC on an international level and showed what our students are capable of. It was a great opportunity to learn more about nursing in other countries and see the strengths of the participating students from all around the world.”
This was RRC’s first time sending a team to the competition, which is hosted by the Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences (SUMHS) in cooperation with the Shanghai Nursing Education Group. To earn the Silver medal, Griffith and Rubin faced off against 15 student teams from around the world in their abilities to assess and react in a simulated medical situation.
The students were judged on their ability to properly assess a medical situation, the level of care and their response to their patients’ needs, how they moved and positioned their patient, their ability to perform various medical procedures, and if they were able to – in the course of administering care – teach their patient or a patient’s family member something new.
Training and preparing was rigorous and leading up to the competition, the pair met weekly with their instructors, Myrna Davis RN BN MEd and Sandy Alguire RN MN, and Chris Hofer, a second-year Nursing student selected as the team’s alternate, to train for the possible scenarios. Each week Davis and Alguire put the team through two possible scenarios, ensuring they would feel comfortable and knowledgeable in the competition.
“I was filled with a sense of pride observing the students during in the competition. They were
and modern in their approach to nursing, but other countries do have different ways of doing things and there are tips and tricks we can apply to our practice.” composed, competent, and caring. The positive outcome validates the quality of our nursing program at RRC,” said Davis. “Our time in Shanghai allowed us to interact with and learn about many different cultures to improve our own cultural competence that we can share in the classroom.”
Griffith and Rubin agreed with Davis the best part of the competition was meeting other students and being able to share and learn knowledge.
“I appreciated getting to see nursing around the world,” said Griffith. “Canada and RRC are progressive

Participating in international competitions like this helps the College to continue building relationships and partnerships with other institutions from across the world. Students and instructors are given the opportunity to share knowledge and bring home new information and systems, allowing RRC to remain a leader in industry training.
The Nursing program at Red River College is a 32-month degree program including a senior practicum of 450 hours. The program is offered at RRC’s Notre Dame Campus, Portage la Prairie Campus and Winkler Campus. According to the latest RRC graduate report, 92 per cent of RRC Nursing grads are employed in their field.