Sigma Theta Tau International Award

When I started my degree in nursing, I thought it was going to be a stepping-stone to get into medicine. Little did I know that 18 years later, I would love being a nurse as much as I did after I graduated from my prelicensure program in 2004. I began my career in Northern Manitoba, working on a pediatric, medical and surgical floor. Since then I have worked in a variety of settings including acute medicine, perinatal health, primary care, public and community nursing. Although I enjoyed my journey working in tertiary care, my passion in nursing lies in community and public health nursing even after the COVID-19 pandemic! This made me realize that I wanted to share this passion with student nurses given that most nurses enter the profession to work in hospital settings. I wanted the students to get a taste of boots on the ground community nursing.

I began my doctoral journey at the University of Ottawa in 2020. For my doctoral research, I am continuing working with equity serving population during the transition to parenthood, working on a collaborative research project with the Collectif LGBTQ* du Manitoba. I am grateful to the Canadian Nurses Foundation and Sigma for their support and confidence in my ability to contribute to the nursing profession.