Bianca Beyer Award

My passion for nursing began while I was working as a summer-term health care aide at a long-term care facility in my hometown of Arthur, Ontario. Despite being in business school at the time, I constantly missed working with the residents and the interdisciplinary team members. It was this experience that inspired me to become a Registered Practical Nurse in 2013, where I worked in postpartum and paediatric care areas.

After completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2017, I worked in acute paediatric care while concurrently teaching nursing students in a laboratory setting. With these experiences, I knew I wanted to dedicate my nursing career to educating new generations of nurses while also inspiring them to discover the vast opportunities that a nursing career provides. I decided to attend graduate school so that I could pursue a career that would combine my passions of clinical care, education, and research.

After completing a Master of Nursing degree in 2020, I began a PhD in Nursing at Western University the same year. My research interests include women’s health and digital health equity, and my dissertation work will focus on understanding patients’ breastfeeding experiences to enhance future clinical support models. I am also currently a Professor of Nursing at Lambton College in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, and a Research Trainee at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.