Sanofi Pasteur Limited Scholarship in Public/Community Health Award

I was drawn to nursing to gain the knowledge and skills to actively enhance the health of others and positively impact my community. Since graduating with a Bachelor of Nursing degree, I have continued to work as an emergency nurse and have experience as a chronic disease management nurse. In these environments, I have witnessed the importance of developing solid relationships with patients and their families to work together as a team to foster positive health outcomes.

My experiences with patient empowerment encouraged me to pursue a Master of Nursing degree to further strengthen relationships between health care professionals and patients. Research has shown that cannabis is increasingly viewed as safe and medicinally useful by Canadians and that health care providers may not feel comfortable addressing this. My research focuses on the experiences of women who consume cannabis while pregnant or lactating to offer insight into this decision and how to foster trusting relationships. I am incredibly grateful to the Canadian Nursing Foundation for this generous award that will assist me in advancing our knowledge regarding cannabis consumption during pregnancy and lactation and positively influencing the health outcomes of women and their children.