Dr. Ann Beckingham Award

I am a second year PhD student and a graduate of the Masters of Nursing Program at the University of Toronto with a Collaborative Program in Bioethics through the Joint Centre for Bioethics. I have a particular passion for nursing ethics and the complex challenges faced by the cardiovascular population. In the past I have worked with patients who have received various cardiovascular surgeries as well as with patients who are managing heart failure at different stages in the illness trajectory.

I have been passionate about cardiovascular health and wellbeing since my undergraduate education at McGill University in Montreal. In particular, I am interested in improving disease progression and end of life care for patients with chronic cardiovascular conditions. I love working with patients and families, as well as with students and emerging health professionals through ethics education and nursing leadership activities.

This generous award from CNF will allow me to continue to develop my leadership capacities through my work with various councils and committees, specifically as an executive member of the Graduate Nurses Student Society at the University of Toronto, as well as with the Canadian Bioethics Society and Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses. This award allows me to present my research at a number of specialized conferences and collaborate with leaders in the fields of nursing ethics, cardiovascular and palliative care. Most importantly, this award affords me the time to develop my research project with the goal of improving the illness experience for patients with cardiovascular conditions and their families.