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Continuing Professional Development

Rural Education and Advanced Learning (REAL)

/Health professionals/Continuing Professional Development/Rural Education and Advanced Learning (REAL)
Continuing Professional Development

Rural Education and Advanced Learning (REAL) Program

Applications are now closed and will reopen from September 11 to October 23, 2024.

RhPAP’s REAL Program helps rural health professionals access continuing professional development and education opportunities that help them enhance the healthcare services they offer in their communities.

This initiative is aimed at nurses, midwives, nurse practitioners, and allied health professionals working in rural Alberta in one of the following contexts:

  • a primary care network
  • an out-of-scope or non-union position
  • in independent or private practice
  • as a clinical nurse educator or clinical resource nurse

These contexts have been prioritized for funding as they were perceived to have the most challenges accessing training or the most opportunity to share training with colleagues.

Each application cycle, applicants may apply for funding for a course, a semester of courses, or similar training opportunities. Some recent examples of training opportunities that were supported through the REAL Program include the following:

Bonnyville speech-language pathologist Alaina Gamache works with five-year-old Abigail on some orofacial myofunctional exercises after receiving training on the speciality from an RhPAP-sponsored course.

 

Subscribe to RhPAP’s communications to stay informed on when to apply as well as other programs that may be of interest to you.

Eligibility

To be eligible, the following conditions must be met: 

  • Work in rural Alberta in one of the following contexts for at least six (6) consecutive months: a primary care network, an out-of-scope or non-union position, in independent or private practice, or as a clinical nurse educator.
  • Hold an active practice license, and be in good standing, in Alberta through their applicable professional regulatory body.
  • Currently live and practise and do the majority of their work (must be at least 10 hours per week) in a rural Alberta community located outside the Census Metropolitan Area boundaries of Calgary or Edmonton, with a population of fewer than 15,000 people, or fall within Alberta’s North Zone

Training must meet the following criteria:

  • Applicants may only apply for one course, semester of courses, or other training opportunity per application cycle.
  • Course or training opportunity must support your clinical area of practice, be relevant to your current position and scope of practice.
  • Course or training opportunity must benefit patients within your community as well as your personal practice or skill competency.
  • Course or training opportunity must not have already received funding from or subsidy through REAL or another source.

Applicants must be willing to agree to the following terms and conditions:

  • a return-of-service term
  • repayment of REAL funding in the event that the course is not successfully completed or the return-of-service commitment is not fulfilled
  • participation in the evaluation of the REAL Program and provision of feedback as requested
  • other terms and conditions that may apply

Please note: Preference may be given to applications based on the following criteria:

  1. the remoteness/ need of the community from which the applicant is applying as determined by Alberta Health’s Rural & Remote Program Isolation Scores.
  2. the benefit of the type of course/ training/ program to the community (Considerations include the following: what kind of value would local patients/clients receive from this training?; does another provider in the community already offer the services that this training would facilitate?, etc.)
  3. amount of REAL funding previously provided to applicant

If you have questions, please email REAL@rhpap.ca.

Click here to learn more about the REAL Application Process

 

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