New to Nursing

Have you struggled with caring for older adults living with dementia? Do you find it challenging or confusing to work around some behaviors they display? In this episode, we dive deep into understanding dementia through the lens of the 8A’s. Dalyce Gouin, RPN, expertly breaks down the key behaviors and challenges often seen in patients with dementia. We explore the WHY behind these behaviors to help healthcare professionals approach their patients with greater empathy and insight.

Need to know more? In Part 2, Dalyce takes the conversation a step further with an exercise designed to help listeners truly connect with the perspective of an older adult living with dementia. The exercise encourages caregivers to think creatively and adapt their care approaches, with Dalyce providing a real-world example that showcases how small, thoughtful changes can make a big difference in patient care.

Join us for this informative and empowering series of episodes as we continue to learn how to provide compassionate, patient-centered care for those living with dementia.

Show notes:

For more information we recommend taking PIECES and/or GPA courses available through Ilearn.

PIECES- register via Ilearn 3077 and 3078

GPA (Gentle Persuasive Approach)- Register via Ilearn 1317.

Have you struggled with caring for older adults living with dementia? Do you find it challenging or confusing to work around some behaviors they display? We are back for the final part of Dementia Decoded with expert Dalyce Gouin (RPN with Interior Health). In this episode Dalyce will talk about the 'hygiene crisis' (can personal care really wait?) and will give you real world strategies to help do personal care appropriately with a patient with dementia. She will also talk you through the top 10 unmet needs someone may have who maybe can't communicate well. This will help you become a skilled detective when faced with challenging behaviours. She will end by telling you 5 ways to make someone toast....yes toast....listen in to learn more!

Join us for this informative and empowering series of episodes as we continue to learn how to provide compassionate, patient-centered care for those living with dementia.

Show notes:

For more information we recommend taking PIECES and/or GPA courses available through Ilearn.

PIECES- register via Ilearn 3077 and 3078

GPA (Gentle Persuasive Approach)- Register via Ilearn 1317.

In this Gimme 5 episode, we’re breaking down the essentials of Central Venous Access Devices (CVADs)—what they are, why they’re used, and how to tell the different types apart. From non-tunneled CVCs to fully implanted ports, you’ll learn the key differences in use, duration, insertion sites, and tip placement. This quick guide will help you recognize what you’re looking at—and what to do next.

Gimme 5 CVAD Comparison Guide

IH Venous Access Device & Site Selection Guidelines - Parenteral Practices

Gimme 5 is your new go-to series for quick, no-fluff deep dives into the essentials. Each episode delivers the back-to-basics info you need—in just 5 minutes. No fillers, no distractions, just fast facts and key insights to get you up to speed, fast. Perfect for busy minds who want to learn efficiently. Ready? Let’s Gimme 5!

This episode gives you answers to the top 5 questions we get from nursing students and our brand new hires about working in Interior Health. Can you work casually? When should you take that big post graduation trip you've been planning? Can you get hired to a maternity ward right out of school? Listen in to find out!

You've just experienced something on shift that isn't sitting well...maybe it was a medication error, or a patient fall or a code blue....all you know is that you're questioning your worth, your knowledge, your capabilities. That sucked....now what?

Traumatic experiences are 'part of the job' but there are resources to help you. We want you to have a long and successful career so you NEED to know about debriefing. Listen in to meet Jaime Gallaher- she's a Manager in the Professional Practice office but also a seasoned ER nurse and expert in simulation and debriefing. How do you know when you might need a debrief? Can you ask for one? What should you expect if you're invited to a formal debrief or a critical incident stress debrief (and what's the difference?)

Tune in! You deserve support through the hard times.

Show notes:

Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) available to ALL IH employees here: http://one.telushealth.com/

or call toll free 1-844-880-9142

Gimme 5 is your new go-to series for quick, no-fluff deep dives into the essentials. Each episode delivers the back-to-basics info you need—in just 5 minutes. No fillers, no distractions, just fast facts and key insights to get you up to speed, fast. Perfect for busy minds who want to learn efficiently. Ready? Let’s Gimme 5!

This episode covers the concept of pain assessments. It gives a quick over view of which tools new nurses should use to accurately measure their patients pain as well as reviews some common myths about pain scales.

Gimme 5 is your new go-to series for quick, no-fluff deep dives into the essentials. Each episode delivers the back-to-basics info you need—in just 5 minutes. No fillers, no distractions, just fast facts and key insights to get you up to speed, fast. Perfect for busy minds who want to learn efficiently. Ready? Let’s Gimme 5!

In this episode we cover the 'need to knows' about managing seizures. Discovering your patient having a seizure or supporting them through one can be scary! Learn what you should do in the moment now-so you'll be cool as a cucumber when this situation presents itself. You got this!

Losing a patient for the first time is something nursing school can’t truly prepare you for. In this heartfelt episode, Rachel shares honest reflections and personal stories about navigating grief as a new graduate nurse. From emotional overwhelm to the physical toll of unprocessed loss, she explores what it really means to care — and to mourn — in a profession that often expects you to “stay strong.”

You'll learn about disenfranchised grief, why it matters, and how to recognize its signs in yourself. Rachel also shares practical tools for coping, honoring patient deaths in meaningful ways, and reclaiming your own story at the end of each shift.

Whether you’ve just experienced your first loss or are supporting someone who has, this episode offers connection, validation, and gentle reminders: You are not alone. You are allowed to grieve. And feeling deeply doesn’t make you weak — it makes you human.

🔗 Show Notes:

Employee Family Assistance Program (EFAP)

Start and End of Shift Wellness Check

What is Grief? Types, Symptoms & How to Cope (clevelandclinic.org)

How Nurses can Cope with a Patient's Death - NurseJournal.org

Öcalan, S., Kovanci, M. S., Uslu-Sahan, F., & Ozdemir, L. (2023). First death experiences of newly graduated nurses: A qualitative phenomenological study. Death Studies, 48(4), 303–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2023.2219648

Gimme 5 is your new go-to series for quick,no-fluff deep dives into the essentials. Each episode delivers the back-to-basics info you need—in just 5 minutes. No fillers, no distractions, just fast facts and key insights to get you up to speed, fast. Perfect for busy minds who want to learn efficiently. Ready? Let’s Gimme 5!

This episode covers how to get an accurate SpO2 reading every time...and how to KNOW it's accurate.

Gimme 5 is your new go-to series for quick, no-fluff deep dives into the essentials. Each episode delivers the back-to-basics info you need—in just 5 minutes. No fillers, no distractions, just fast facts and key insights to get you up to speed, fast. Perfect for busy minds who want to learn efficiently. Ready? Let’s Gimme 5!

This episode covers the need-to-knows about Arterial Blood Gases. What are they? Why would they be ordered? What do these numbers MEAN?