Nurses' Voices

In our final episode of Nurses' Voices Season Three, we speak with Angela Wignall about the impact of COVID-19 as well as the current context of care on the health human resources crisis and the urgency of investing in quality practice environments as a critical priority for health system transformation. Trauma-informed leadership is one framework that can support leaders in designing resilient systems where nurses and others in health care thrive. Through the principles of safety, trustworthiness, peer support, mutuality, empowering voice and choice, and cultural and historical factors, trauma-informed leadership aims to centre the humans who care for humans in reimagining the future of health care in Canada.

This episode focuses on how one organization is attempting to reduce documentation burden to prevent nurses’ burnout by identifying redundant or double documentation required to be completed by nurses. The goal is to reduce nurse’s workload related to documentation and information retrieval in Electronic Health Records (EHR), so that they can have more opportunities for therapeutic engagement with clients and feel less burdened by EHR. Thanks to this innovation, the time spent on issues that aren't directly related to care decreases, empowering nurses and their clinical practice to succeed.

This episode highlights the Sharing Circle, a website that was developed with the aim to improve accessibility and healthcare for Indigenous people by the Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada (NSWOCC) Indigenous Wound, Ostomy and Continence Health Core Program. This website is dedicated to helping patients, NSWOCs, and other healthcare professionals across Canada access a directory of resources (general and province and territory specific), education, training, and support related to Indigenous wound, ostomy and continence health.

This episode also highlights nurses who take on volunteer roles and lead health initiatives that they are passionate about.

This episode profiles nurse innovation in closing the system gap to facilitate discharges of patients on weekends to enable the right patient, right place, right care philosophy. This quality improvement initiative focused on improved multidisciplinary communication, resource utilisation and both staff and patient wellbeing. The health human resources crisis and capacity challenges in the health care system requires us to look at our challenges through a different lens, so instead of strategizing alone on attracting additions to the workforce, we as a team designed a process to reduce the capacity and therefore the workload of the team. The aim was to specifically highlight was that, with a seven day week focus we can improve discharge rates on weekends and enhance flow principles at a tertiary care hospital.

This episode highlights the L'nu Nursing Initiative (L'nu means Indigenous in the Mi'kmaw (Mi'kmaq is plural) language). The L'nu Nursing Initiative was created by the Nova Scotia Canadian Institute of Health Research Chair in Indigenous Health Nursing, Dr. Margot Latimer in collaboration with the Mi’kmaq communities in NS. As the L’nu Lead for the provincial Chair, Dawn Googoo’s role is to gather evidence that best supports Indigenous People to access culturally safe nursing education and transition to health care practice. Dawn engages with Indigenous students to support them through the nursing program and help them build pride in their future roles. The initiative also involves building capacity through collaboration with Mi'kmaq communities, educational institutions, provincial/federal governments, national organizations to create meaningful change that will continue to provide a safe and nurturing nursing learning and practice environment for Indigenous peoples.

Welcome to the premiere episode of Nurses' Voices, Season Three: Change is Possible!

This episode profiles Central Ontario’s first college standalone nursing degree program and the approaches taken for innovative curriculum design that actively engaged health care partners and subject matter experts. The aim was to ensure the curriculum met the needs of the community and that the nursing degree program closed the academic – practice gap, ultimately creating future nurses that are practice ready!

In our Season Two finale of Nurses' Voices, join hosts Gail Donner and Mary Wheeler for an honest and personal conversation with Michael J. Villeneuve, RN, MSc, FAAN, who retired in May 2022 as the Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA).

Michael reflects on his 44-year career in nursing, sharing how he started out as an orderly and progressed to become CEOof CNA, with many unique roles along the way. Michael discusses the personally challenging choices he made which took his career down paths he never would have thought possible, what he’s learned during his many years in the profession, and his thoughts on how to ensure a viable and sustainable nursing future.

Resources:

‘No regrets’: former CNA CEO reflects on a life in nursing (Canadian Nurse)

Toward 2020: Visions for Nursing (Canadian Nurses Association)

The Passion and Compassion of Long-Term Care with Bahar Karimi and Sarah McNally (Nurses' Voices)

Advocating for Harm Reduction with Leigh Chapman (Nurses' Voices)

Thank you for enjoying Season Two of Nurses’ Voices! We wish to thank Pfizer Canada for their sponsorship of this season, to the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the Canadian Nurses Association for their ongoing support, to all our guests, whose stories we have been honoured to share and to everyone who helped make the past two season a success. Finally, thank you to all our viewers – we hope you enjoyed the stories of some remarkable nurses across Canada this season. Please share Nurses’ Voices with friends and colleagues, and stay tuned for news about Season Three.

In our newest episode of Nurses' Voices, Gail Donner and Mary Wheeler have a thoughtful discussion with Irene Andress, MN, VP, Programs and Services, Chief Nursing Executive at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.

Irene discusses her current role in nursing leadership at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and how she is able to influence change at the point of care. By being visible, accessible, creative, and innovative, Irene discusses how she is able to open doors and remove barriers in order to improve patient care and address the ongoing staffing crisis in nursing.

We wish to thank Pfizer Canada for their sponsorship of Season Two of Nurses' Voices, and to the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the Canadian Nurses Association for their ongoing support.

Join Gail Donner and Mary Wheeler in an engaging conversation with Karen Lake, RN, BN, Caregiving Consultant and Care Navigator in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

After a 25 year career as a Registered Nurse in various roles including her last role as a manager in home health care, Karen launched her own caregiving consultancy focused on helping people navigate the complex issues of caring for aging loved ones. Karen tells us how she reinvented herself as a business owner and establish a second career after a challenging end to her management position. Karen shares insights about becoming a business owner and lessons she’s learned being an entrepreneur while embracing a more fulfilling career path.

Resources:

Karen Lake - Caregiving Consultant

The Founder's Journey - Free course for new entrepreneurs that guides participants from early ideation to opportunity development, with insights on how to nurture and grow a new business.

We wish to thank Pfizer Canada for their sponsorship of Season Two of Nurses' Voices, and to the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the Canadian Nurses Association for their ongoing support.

In our latest episode of Nurses’ Voices, join hosts Gail Donner and Mary Wheeler for an enlightening discussion with Clinton Baretta NP, BScN, MSc (Bristol), Executive Director at Homeless Health Peel and Felicia Kontopidis RN, BScN, Director of Care at Journey Home Hospice.

Clinton and Felicia are what we would call nurse innovators, nurses who find creative approaches to providing nursing care. They each have their own unique and compelling stories that have brought them to their current roles, caring and advocating for individuals who are homeless. They explain the nurse led services and programs at Homeless Health Peel and Journey Home Hospice and how they and their staff strive to support very vulnerable populations.

Resources:

Homeless Health Peel

Journey Home Hospice

We wish to thank Pfizer Canada for their sponsorship of Season Two of Nurses' Voices, and to the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the Canadian Nurses Association for their ongoing support.