Nurses Association of New Brunswick Award

I grew up in the Madawaska Maliseet First Nation in New Brunswick. While I was pursuing an undergraduate degree in psychology, I did research work that gave me the opportunity of seeing nurses at work. I readily fell in love with this profession and I redirected my studies toward nursing. I became a registered nurse in 2016 and decided to move on to graduate studies right away. As I am highly aware of the healthcare needs of Canada’s Indigenous peoples, it is very important for me to orient my master’s research toward this population.

For the past few years, I have been involved within my community and with various associations such as the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB), the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association (CINA) and the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA). I was also privileged to take part in the “One Million in One Year for Indigenous Nursing Education & Research” fundraising campaign of the Canadian Nurses Foundation (CNF). Moreover, I am a Junior Nurse Consultant for the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (Government of Canada).

I believe that Indigenous nurses have an important role to play within these communities, particularly on providing culturally competent care. I hope that my involvement, my background and the knowledge gained during my training will be an asset in helping the Indigenous population. I wish to thank CNF, CNA and NANB for selecting me as a recipient of this award. I also want to take the opportunity to thank CNF for allowing me to become a voice for Indigenous nursing students, and for supporting me in becoming the nurse I am today. I hope this will inspire other Indigenous nursing students to pursue their graduate studies