Royal Victoria Hospital Alumnae Association Award
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the Royal Victoria Hospital Alumnae Association for their recognition and financial support as I enter my final year in the Master of Science (Applied) Direct-Entry Nursing program at McGill University. My interest in pursuing a career in nursing evolved from my experiences following my undergraduate degree in Medical Microbiology and clinical research in Infectious Diseases and Community Health, where I came to view nurses as a primary force for promoting optimum health, disease prevention and illness management.
As I continue to learn about holistic, patient-centered care, I’ve come to understand how health is affected by social determinants such as limited access to information, social supports, safe environments and adequate nutrition. Working with health issues within a social context, nurses can act as advocates at individual, local and global levels, and I am particularly interested in understanding how global forces can influence disease, public health and health care.
This award will help fund the Global Health component of my degree, where I will be implementing a patient-centered and community-based HIV/AIDS awareness and nursing care project in Njombe, Tanzania during Fall 2013. After graduation I aim to continue working in both Canadian and International health care settings through primary care, patient advocacy and clinical research, which will enable me to contribute to the positive profile of the Canadian Nurse at local, national and international levels.
