For the past 50 years, the role of Registered Psychiatric Nurses (RPNs) in Manitoba has steadily expanded.
Hundreds of RPNs work in hospitals, long term care facilities, clinics, schools, youth centres, suicide prevention programs, crisis teams and other services.
The Registered Psychiatric Nurses Foundation Incorporated (RPNF) was registered as a charity in 1993 and the first bursary was awarded in 1997.
The Registered Psychiatric Nurses Foundation was created to enhance psychiatric nursing education, practice and research, to help Registered Psychiatric Nurses and psychiatric nursing students to further their education in the profession and to honour some of the leaders in the field.
Ken Krahn
Marlene Fitzsimmons President
Melanie Ferg Secretary / Treasurer
Beverley Hicks Scholarship Chair
Larry Mackie Web Administrator
Grant Major
Richard Stefanyshyn
Melanie Shumilak
Cathy Demas
Laura Panteluk
Amy Martyniuk
In 1980, the Psychiatric Nurses Foundation was founded. This was the first Foundation to support Registered Psychiatric Nurses in Canada. In 1993, the named changed to the Registered Psychiatric Nurses Foundation.
In 1997, the first award was granted by the RPNF and in 1998 the RPNF announced that three Scholarships would be awarded annually, namely the Kay Armstrong, Alf Barnett and the John Kellie Scholarships.
In 2004, a Bursary with Brandon University was established and is to be granted annually to a full time undergraduate psychiatric nursing student who has completed their third year and entering into their fourth year of studies.
The Marlene Fitzsimmons Scholarship was established in 2009 and in 2010 the first National Scholarship for any Registered Psychiatric Nurse in Canada was created.
Our Fundraising Target is to achieve $100,000.00 by the year 2020. This would give us the necessary investment principle to be able to increase all of our Scholarships to $1000.00 each.