Nova Scotia Nurses Association Award

I love helping people, especially kids and families.  Kids make routine health situations an adventure and there are always laughs to share!  The dedication and strength of families still inspires me after 10 years as a pediatric nurse.  I have had a varied career, working in pediatric intensive care, as a grief resource nurse, and now as a gastroenterology nurse, helping kids and teens who have digestive problems.

No matter where I have worked, I have never stopped learning about myself and others.  I have strived to improve how we provide care by being involved with research, committees, and mentoring nurses.  I have worked with teams of health professionals who I admire and who challenge me to grow.

Through it all, there is an essence to what I do and why I am a nurse.  I first saw it in my mother and grandmother, who are nurses.  It’s about finding humanity in every situation.  It’s realizing that patients are individuals, but are also part of families and communities.  Health situations can be simple and complicated, predictable and unexpected, overwhelming and inspiring.  A nurse seeks to discover these facets of health and life, and steps forward to help patients and families navigate them.

Now I turn to a new challenge as I pursue my master’s degree.  I look forward to expanding my practice in ways that will make me a more effective pediatric nurse.  Yet I will always stay true to my foundation, that essence of nursing.