Bianca Beyer Award

After completing high school, I moved to Saskatoon to pursue a health profession.  I eventually decided to become a registered nurse because nurses have a holistic knowledge of health and work closely with patients to improve their lives.  While completing the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan (NEPS), I had the opportunity to travel to South Korea for one of my final practicums.  This experience initiated my passion for international health and helped me to understand the benefit of learning from other countries to improve health and nursing care in Canada.

Since obtaining my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and becoming a registered nurse, I have worked as a nurse in rural acute care, rural home care, rural community health, and the Saskatchewan TB Prevention & Control program.  I have also volunteered internationally in Tanzania and Peru.  I earned my master’s degree in Nursing, focusing on the influence that national political environments have on access to health care. I then decided to purse a PhD in Nursing.  My PhD research will focus on the influence that national welfare policies have on health prevention.  I am currently working on my PhD research, and I am grateful for support from the Canadian Nurses Foundation.