CNF COVID-19 Fund Award

My initial decision to pursue a career in nursing was naive: I had no family members that were nurses and no personal experiences with the profession. But somewhere along the four years of my undergraduate degree, I fell in love with nursing.

I’ve been fortunate with the opportunities I’ve had as a nurse since graduating eight years ago. My professional experiences in emergency nursing, sexualized assault care, and nursing education have provided me with more growth and leadership experiences than I could have ever hoped for. At the same time, these experiences have also shown evidence of the stark realities and trauma that can accompany the nursing profession. Nursing is amazing, and I truly cannot imagine doing anything else – but some days, it’s also incredibly hard.

My graduate studies and thesis topic are rooted in the belief that we need more research on the collective mental health burden that affects nurses, the impacts this has on our populations, and the need for education, policies, and legislation to support the changes that nurses need.

Thank you to the Canadian Nurses Foundation and the many generous donors who have chosen to support nursing education in Canada. I am so grateful for your support moving forward!