CNF COVID-19 Recovery Award

I realized my vocation in nursing as I neared the end of my bachelor’s degree in Physiology at McGill. I was visiting a friend hospitalized for a first episode of Lupus. As I sat by her hospital bed, I noticed her reactions to the different professionals who entered her room. When the team of physicians stood around her bed discussing my friend’s situation, she seemed guarded, apprehensive, and tense. When the nurse walked in soon after, the contrast was evident: There was familiarity and intimacy between the nurse and my friend. I was immediately drawn to nursing as a career choice.  

More than 15 years later, I would have never expected my nursing career to take the path it did. After working as a CNS in Child Psychiatry and then as an Evidence-Informed Decision-Making Advisor at the McGill University Health Centre, I decided to pursue a PhD in nursing. My close working relationship with current and emerging nurse leaders inspired my doctoral research, which aims to explore how point of care nursing leaders engage in shared leadership to support the implementation of evidence-based practice on hospital units. This work had opened a gateway to exciting research and education collaborations both locally and nationally.

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the Canadian Nurses Foundation and their support of my doctoral work through the COVID-19 Recovery Award. Aligned with their mission to develop effective leaders in nursing, I hope my work can contribute to strengthen the capacity of nurses as key drivers and transformational leaders in ensuring high quality healthcare.