Lundbeck Canada Mental Health Nursing Award

My name is Carly Whitmore and I am a Registered Nurse and PhD student in the School of Nursing at McMaster University. As a nursing student, I knew early on that I would work in psychiatry. I was drawn to the work, the resiliency of the people, and the need for advocacy and understanding. Upon graduating, I went on to work within the specialty of Forensic Psychiatry on units that specialize in the rehabilitation of individuals with mental illness. In this capacity I held point-of-care, project-specific, and education-based roles. In 2016 I obtained my Canadian Nurses Association certification in Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing – demonstrating my dedication to the profession and my commitment to specialized knowledge. Despite no longer being employed in a patient-facing role, I continue to leverage my skills, knowledge, and expertise to guide the research that I am completing.

My PhD research project aims to understand and explain the factors that shape health among community-dwelling older adults. Recognizing the shifting demographics both in Canada and around the world, there is a remains a need to fully understand health among this population. This includes, more specifically, understanding how symptoms of depression, common among older adults, impacts health. I am grateful of the support from the Canadian Nurses Foundation.