Innovative Medicines Canada Nurse Practitioner Award

I am very grateful to be selected for this scholarship. I entered the field of nursing 7 years ago with the intention of becoming a public health nurse to engage in therapeutic relationships with patients to prevent disease progression. Coming from a family with a significant history of heart disease and stroke, this area of nursing was most appealing to me. However, during one of my work placements, I took great interest in critical care nursing and started my career in the ICU at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto. Over the years, having seen multiple patients admitted into the hospital with poorly managed disease processes, my desire to care for patients in a preventative and primary care setting returned. I enrolled in the Nurse Practitioner program at the University of Victoria to earn my degree and fulfill this career goal. Currently, I am completing my first year of the two year condensed program and plan to graduate in July 2020. My proudest accomplishments as a nurse all pertain to my interactions with patients and their family. The sense of relief and trust in me they express after I spend time explaining plans of care and helping them understand disease processes, is the most satisfying feeling as a healthcare professional.