Nova Scotia Nurses Award

My path in life has been winding one. I’ve moved around across the continent since childhood and studied and worked in agriculture and environmental science and engineering before I began working as a staff person in emergency shelters in Nova Scotia two years ago. It was my exposure to the nurses who work with Mobile Outreach Street Health here in Halifax and my desire to find work in a rural area that involved working with people while drawing from a scientific knowledge base that directed me towards studying nursing. Since my studies began last year, I have become passionate about nursing because it is a field of work and study that acknowledges the diversity and complexities in wellness, the human experience and the world we live in. I appreciate that in school we learn about the technical and physical aspects of nursing care but also acknowledge the massive influence of social determinants of health, the value of self-reflective practice and the importance of preserving dignity, supporting informed decision making and providing culturally competent care. I hope to increase acknowledgement of these less tangible elements of nursing in practice settings throughout my career. I am very grateful to the Canadian Nurses Foundation for generously awarding me the CNF Nova Scotia Nurses Award. This award will be a great help in funding my last year of the 2-year fast track program at Dalhousie University. I am so excited to dive into the world of nursing practice in the fall of 2013.