The Nursing Department would like to congratulate nursing instructor, Dr. Patricia Gregory, on receiving a research grant totaling just under one million dollars over the course of four years! Dr. Gregory and team received the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Team Grant: TiC – Stream 1 – PHSI Solutions for Transitions in Care Gaps for their research project “Facilitating transitions and access across the pregnancy continuum of care – A Health System Intervention for Indigenous Women Living in Northern Manitoba.” The grant is for $236,111 per year for four years, totaling $944,444! It is also the first time Red River College has been awarded a CIHR grant.

Dr. Gregory, principal investigator, along with her team Susan Kobliski, Wanda Phillips-Beck, Dr. Jonathan McGavock, Dr. Nathan Nickel, Helga Bryant, Lorraine Laroque, Rhonda Campbell, Nancy Vystrcil, Dr. Sarah Ahmed, Dr. Claire Betker, Dr. Marnie Brownell, Dr. J. Cidro, Dr. Cindy-Lee Dennis, Dr. Alan Katz, Dr. France Legare, Pam Noseworthy, Dr. Kellie Thiessen, and Dr. Julia Witt developed this project to determine if “a pregnancy continuum care network, led by an Indigenous health systems navigator, will improve pregnancy care and neonatal outcomes among Indigenous women and their children in Northern Manitoba”. The multi-disciplinary team of researchers and stakeholders seek to improve the health of Indigenous women and their babies in Northern regions of Manitoba through the development and evaluation of an intervention to improve health systems transitions and enhance continuity of care, the first intervention of its kind in the province.

For more information on this research project, check out the Northern Pregnancy Collective Impact Net.

Post written by Meagen Chorney – Nursing Instructor
Photos from the Northern Pregnancy Collective Impact Net

The Nursing Students’ Association at Red River College hosted a Nursing Students’ Week. It is a CNSA (Canadian Nursing Students’ Association) initiative, which was celebrated across Canada during the week of November 18th-22nd, 2019.

Our students were away from the College that week so we moved the dates to December 16th-20th, 2019. We started off by hosting a Paint Night led by Amber Van Ma’iingan from Painting on the Prairies. The event was fully covered by the Healthy Minds, Healthy College Initiative, and organized by Breanna Sawatzky Mental Health Coordinator and one of our NSA members Marlo Pereira- Edwards.

Monday was the start of our nursing positivity wall, which was proudly displayed in the library hallway for all students to add to throughout the week. Red River College nursing students also ran a donation drive and collected everyday items based on the needs of Willow Place this holiday season. Willow Place is a non-profit organization in Winnipeg that helps women and children experiencing family violence and provides them with support and emergency shelter.

With the student’s generosity, we were able to fill up 3 boxes full of various items. The donations included daily care items such as shampoo, toothbrushes, a hair dryer and hair straightener; a lot of craft and activity items such as coloring books, pencils, glue-sticks, scissors and children’s books; and lastly non-perishable food items.

Tuesday we started making holiday cards for pediatric patients; we delivered 40 cards to different units at the Children’s Hospital.

Wednesday we had a relaxing lunch of eating baked goods and making reindeer ornaments; over 40 were made!!

Thursday we hosted self care making kits, which included chocolate, mints, hair ties, playdough, pencils and pens, David’s tea sachets and other items.

Friday we invited all students and staff to wear ugly sweaters and took a group picture and later celebrated the end of the week with a DIY hot chocolate bar!

We had a great turn out to all the planned events and hope to be able to plan more fun events throughout the new year of 2020!!

Post by Kristen McGregor and Samantha Siedlik – Student Nurses

Photos by the RRC Nursing Students’ Association

The holidays can be a time of great joy and yes sorrow. As nurses, we are often witness to the hardships and miracles that the season can bring. I recently had the pleasure of attending an annual holiday function that highlighted the great joy our faculty find in each other’s company. It was through this time I spent with my colleagues that I was able to gather stories from our time working as nurses. All of these stories serve a purpose. Some help to highlight the spirit of the season and others help to remind us of our humanity.

Several individuals shared their stories about working as nurses in the community. Nurses working in the community are often isolated and so are their clients. One person shared that she enjoyed working on Christmas because “there was this connection, we were both on our own and I knew that I might be the only other person that client saw that day.” Another nurse shared their most memorable moment from home care where they were “asked to share a Christmas lunch with a lonely elderly couple. I arrived just before 12 and was literally probed (with 2 canes) to the already set and decorated table. This was a complete surprise and although it was against policy, I could not bring myself not to comply with these wishes. We had a wonderful (and short) time.”

The holidays can be a special time and a time of creativity. The pediatric and maternity nurses can exemplify this. One of the nurses I know well shared that one of her children was born on Christmas day. She had an exemplary experience throughout the labor and delivery, and her child was gently placed into a bright red stocking to help make the day even more special. The staff at St. Boniface always ensure that any baby born on Christmas receives a cute crocheted Santa hat. The peds units can be empty during the holidays as most of the kids that can be discharged or out on pass are away. For those kids who have to stay, the nurses try very hard to make sure they have a wonderful day. Santa comes to each child and hand delivers a gift. This same nurse remembers rolling out the TV and movie player in the hallway on Christmas Eve and having a movie night with all the kids on the unit.

Finally, one nurse shared a memorable Christmas moment where a child who had a recent transplant had to celebrate separated from their siblings by a glass door. The siblings had received a chicken pox vaccine and could not come in contact with their brother/sister, so the family made the best of things half on one side of the glass door, half on the other. This nurse remembers this very vividly stating “at one point the younger sister was kissing the glass that separated her from her sibling, this was just so touching to see. This goes to show that Christmas is what you make of it.”

This creativity can be found in care of adults as well. Some staff in a Long Term Care home had a tradition of putting out Christmas stockings, filled with small gifts for the residents. The staff would then gather around excited to see the residents open their gifts, and one of the HCAs would dress up like Santa. “It was magical.” In the ER, the staff would make up stockings and put them in all the rooms. The first patients to arrive on Christmas to those rooms would get those stockings.

Nurses who work with vulnerable clients can often appreciate the delicacy of life. The sorrow of a patient passing is magnified during special times of the year. Patients living with life limiting illness can teach us so much about finding joy in the small stuff in life. For example, in one Winnipeg hospice, the patients each received a special holiday themed decorative pillow. These pillows were placed in each room with care. The patients lit up with joy as they discovered their new pillow. Care for those in need can leave a lasting impression on us as caregivers. Many nurses have those memories that have a profound effect on us. One nurse remembered a time when she was called into work in the recovery room on Christmas. A patient who had just come from the OR to the recovery room was not expected to make it. She stated, “I spent the day consoling the family, I will never forget this moment.” Another colleague shared their story of a “Christmas miracle” from the SICU. This patient was the only patient on the 10 bed unit. The patient was greatly impacted by a CVA but over the course of the day made a huge recovery.

I would like to thank everyone for sharing their holiday memories. It is my hope that you all take time to enjoy the finer things in life. Hold dear to those that you love and enjoy the small stuff too.

Corrina Zacharkiw RN MN and the Public Relations Committee

Photo from https://www.publicdomainpictures.net

Emma MacLennan shares her experience and insight since graduating from the BN program in 2018:

Where are you now?

After completing my senior practicum at the NICU at Health Sciences Centre, I am currently still there working my dream job!

How easy was it to find a job after graduation?

I was very fortunate to be able to accept a position during my senior practicum. I started applying for jobs as they came up during practicum. I started in a full time term position and have since then been able to secure a full time permanent position.

How did you manage the responsibility of going from student to nurse?

I think I had a pretty smooth transition from student nurse to nurse. Of course it was a little bit intimidating your first shift on your own but you come to realize very quickly that there are many nurses around to support you. I believe it’s still important to ask questions and take advantage of any learning opportunities. Your learning doesn’t stop after you transition from the student role; for me it really had just begun and I learn new things almost every shift!

How did you build your confidence as a new nurse?

As I became more familiar with the unit and the babies on the unit I became more comfortable with the care I was providing and the conditions I was seeing which allowed me to become more confident in my assessments and advocating for my patients. I also found building relationships with other nurses, RTs, OTs, doctors and other members of the health care team helped gain other perspectives which helped me build my knowledge base and look at things from different perspectives. Having a good understanding of why you are doing something and the rationales for it really helps you feel more confident in the care you are providing!

Thinking back, what were the most important lessons from school that you took into the workforce?

I think for me the most important skills were organization, communication and a willingness to learn. Obviously your fundamental knowledge is important but in my experience I was given so much education upon starting on my unit that I didn’t feel I was stressed out or worried about not remembering things I learnt at school. I also don’t think I would have learned as much as I have without having a willingness to learn; you really get out what you put in. I have fully taken advantage of seeking learning opportunities on my unit and seeking out information and communicating with those around me what I feel comfortable with and what I would like more experience with.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were a student?

It’s ok not to know everything! In fact no one expects you to know everything. It’s important to be able to recognize what you don’t know or aren’t comfortable with and seek out help from those around you.

What piece of advice would you give to current students?

Don’t forget to take time for yourself and do the things you enjoy! Nursing is one part of your life; don’t neglect other aspects of your life that are important to you.

Thank you Emma for sharing your experience and words of wisdom!

Every year, the Nursing Department shows their holiday cheer by sponsoring a Christmas Hamper for a RRC student and their family. Through donations of food and presents, the department helps to make the holiday season a little merrier for a family in need.

Thank you to the Nursing Department for all your donations for our RRC Student Association Christmas Hamper this year!

Post written by Meagen Chorney – Nursing Instructor

Photo taken from pixabay.com

The act of remembrance as defined by Merriam-Webster is “the state of bearing in mind, an act of recalling to mind, a memory of a person, thing, or event, something that serves to keep in or bring to mind, a greeting or gift recalling or expressing friendship or affection.” It is through these acts of remembrance that nurses can take time to reflect upon where they came from. This month’s blog will focus on Lilian Mugweni’s remembrance of her first day as a nurse on a busy unit at the Women’s Health Centre within HSC. Lilian graduated from the University of Manitoba with her BN in 1999 and completed her Master’s degree in Nursing in 2009.

When asked about her first day as a nurse, the first thing that came to Lilian’s mind was “I was so nervous. I think my biggest fear was being asked questions by the patients and not knowing the answers.” I hardly slept the night before. “I had just finished my senior practicum on the same unit so I knew the unit, the staff and some of the patients. I think this helped because when I started my shift my preceptor was there.” Lilian went on to share that although she was familiar with the unit, she did not feel confident in her own abilities to handle the more difficult nursing responsibilities. She stated that she felt overwhelmed and tired. Having her preceptor there for support was invaluable. The shift went well because of this. Finding that support person early on is so important. All the nursing and support staff were very supportive from that day onward on WRS5.

Another lesson Lilian would like to impart about her first day experience is that she wishes that she had taken some time off between practicum and starting her full-time nursing position. She stated, “I needed to work, I had bills to pay. It was exciting to start my career. I just wish that I had taken a week off to get some rest and take some time to reflect about what I learned during practicum.”

As nurses, we work so hard to make sure we are providing the best possible care. As new graduates, there is a sense of urgency to get things started. Even though one might be familiar with the unit where one is hired does not guarantee nerves of steel. Remember that it is normal to feel some kind of nervousness and that finding our way has its ups and downs. In the end, nurses are all striving for the same thing: safe competent care.

Post written by: Corrina Zacharkiw RN MN

Interview: Lilian Mugweni RN MN

Taking the learning out of the classroom and out of our control is scary, but I can tell you from experience that it is worth it.

Over the past two years, I integrated the College’s Step Out of Your Box (SOYB) program into my Gender Studies for Health Professionals course for the Nursing department. SOYB helps students explore a dimension of diversity different from their own. The program uses service-learning as a pedagogical tool, taking students out of the classroom and into the real world. Students complete 7 hours of volunteer time at a community organization of their choice, coordinate with the organization to plan a leave-behind project, and then write a reflection on their experience. What better way to connect students with course material than to have them experience it first-hand, give something back, and reflect on it all? As a bonus, students can submit their reflections to be eligible for four $500 awards.

Although the prospect of including service-learning into my course was unfamiliar and somewhat intimidating, implementation was surprisingly easy. I worked with the RRC mentorship coordinator to implement the program as an alternate assignment to a paper within the constraints of a 12-week term. We also adapted SOYB to the objectives of the course by stipulating that the dimension of diversity had to connect with gender and including a couple nursing-specific reflection questions. I then created an assignment guideline and a rubric to evaluate the program requirements and depth of reflection. The mentorship coordinator joined my class on day 1 to introduce SOYB, at which point I turned control of the learning experience over to the students, under her guidance. Implementing SOYB did not add to my workload. With the initial materials in place, it allowed me to focus on other course objectives while the students focused on developing their power skills and cultural competence.

With its self-directed nature, service-learning is shown to increase self-efficacy and responsibility as well as elevate student success. Students were not only learning about the communities they were volunteering with; they were also learning about themselves. What better way for a student to face their fears in an ever-changing world? What better way for students to check their own privilege? As an instructor, I can give my students readings, lectures, and discussions. With the help of SOYB, I can also give my students that ‘a-ha’ moment when theory comes to life. As one student put it, “I finished this experience not learning what I wanted but learning what I needed.”

The College-wide learning outcomes emphasize that community engagement is crucial to the learning process, and students must be able to collaborate and work in a growingly diverse country. Learning about diversity can often be difficult, though. The theoretical can stereotype and generalize. Lectures, class discussions, and guest speakers are incredibly useful, but often being surrounded by or exposed to diversity does not mean that we internalize it or appreciate it. Through SOYB, students are meeting individuals different from themselves, face to face, in their environment. They are talking to and learning from individuals that they might never have otherwise interacted with. They get to humanize someone even if they don’t understand or agree with them. Service-learning has been shown to increase empathy and cultural competence. Students can collaborate with community organizations toward social inclusion, social justice, and building a better future, while also meeting the College values of learning, respect, inclusiveness, integrity, and service to community.

The first term that I offered SOYB as an alternate assignment, most of the students chose it. Since then, every single student has chosen service-learning over writing a paper. From the growing popularity of the program and the comments in their reflections, students see the value of this experience. For me, it has been a shift in my perspective of my role as an instructor. I had to let go of control over what and how exactly a student will learn.

As instructors, we’re constantly looking for new and innovative ways to get our content across to students. SOYB won’t replace course content, but it will reinforce it. It is experientially robust and employer relevant. Our students are diverse and their future employers, coworkers, and clients are diverse. Whether as an alternate assignment or a small portion of work placement focused on social responsibility, the Step Out of Your Box program is a rewarding addition to any course.

Instructors:

To find out how to integrate SOYB into your course, contact the mentorship coordinator, Vera Godavari, at soyb@rrc.ca or visit https://www.rrc.ca/diversity/mentorship-awards/step-out-of-your-box/

For more on the experience of using SOYB as an alternate course assignment, contact Meagen Chorney at machorney@rrc.ca

Students:

Interested in taking part in the Step Out of Your Box program?

It’s open to all students even if you’re not in a course integrating it. Contact Vera at soyb@rrc.ca or visit https://www.rrc.ca/diversity/mentorship-awards/step-out-of-your-box/ to sign up today.

Post written by Meagen Chorney – Nursing Instructor
and Vera Godavari – Mentorship Coordinator

Paige shares her experience and insight since graduating from the BN program in 2017:

Where are you now?

I never expected to end up working in paediatrics. I thought I wanted “hard core nursing” (whatever that meant). However, after one clinical day at children’s hospital I knew I had found my home. I feel lucky, not everyone finds their niche right away and they have to entertain a few different positions before finding what is right for them. That is the beauty of nursing. We have a skill set that can allow us to work in a variety of settings, in varying roles, and we don’t have to stay in the same position forever if we don’t want to! The diversity of nursing has always appealed to me!

I currently work on CH5 a long-term/transitional/acute paedatric medicine ward where we see almost everything! It is challenging and I learn something new every day! I work with kids and their families from ages 1 day old to 17 years old. Our ward takes on children who have cystic fibrosis, eating disorders, traumatic brain injuries, and cerebral palsy, but we are equipped to take on whatever walks through emerge’s doors. Every day is a fun new challenge sprinkled with peppa pig stickers and popscicles. When I started nursing school I thought that peds was cute and fluffy but every day on CH5 proves me wrong. These kids are strong and resilient and as their nurses we have to be even stronger while keeping a smile on our faces and make them forget they are sick in a hospital even for a moment. That’s hardcore.

How easy was it to find a job after graduation?

I started applying for positions halfway through practicum and had secured a job in the child health float pool by the end of my practicum. I started in a term position and after 7 months I was in a permanent. I stayed in this position for a year and then took a term on CH5 and eventually took a permanent. I loved the float pool and I encourage any new nurse who is unsure of where they want to nurse to consider a position. You get to explore different areas and take care of populations you never expected. Through the float pool I learned that I did not care for NICU nursing and that I loved the challenging fast pace of acute mixed with long term patient continuity that I get to experience on CH5. The float pool definitely helped me become a more well rounded nurse and find a ward I wanted to call home.

How did you manage the responsibility of going from student to nurse?

Make friends with other nurses! I cannot stress this enough! Learn from your peers, learn from your seniors, learn from your mentors and educators. The transition from student to nurse is a lot less scary if you surround yourself with people you feel safe asking questions to and who will help you when you are feeling overwhelmed. I was pleasantly surprised at how willing nurses were to help because we hear horror stories of nurses eating their young. While I believe that this does still exist unfortunately I do believe that the culture is changing and I think that nurses are realizing by helping raise each other up we are all becoming stronger nurses and a more efficient team.

How did you build your confidence as a new nurse?

Again, through meeting other nurses who lift you up instead of tear you down! (see above)

Thinking back, what were the most important lessons from school that you took into the workforce?

In a nutshell, the best way to describe nursing is “nothing like what I expected”. When I started nursing school I thought I was doing it simply because I liked helping people, but I quickly learned that nursing is not only about heart. Nursing is a science, an art, a discipline, and a public service. Being nice is just a small sliver of the character, skill, leadership, and brainpower you need to develop and exercise in this profession. There were definitely many days in nursing school when I didn’t think I was cut out to be a nurse and even on my worst days as an RNBN I doubt myself. That is to be expected in a field that is forever growing and changing and I feel privileged to be able to learn from within it.

I completed my practicum on a pediatric unit. I loved my placement, but I had a very challenging practicum that tested me mentally and emotionally and I almost didn’t complete the program as a result. I had a difficult preceptor who expected more from me than I was capable of as a student; she intimidated me and made me feel unsure and incompetent. Fortunately, other nurses on the ward took note of what was going on and advocated for me on my behalf and encouraged me to speak with my practicum advisor. Ultimately our preceptorship ended and I was placed with 2 other preceptors who helped me rebuild my confidence and skill set and I graduated on time. I never regret the way my practicum journey played out; while I didn’t appreciate being bullied I learned valuable lessons that can’t be taught in school about managing conflict and maintaining professionalism. Practicum taught me that nursing is not black and white but a complicated web of technical and assessment skills and knowledge intertwined with teamwork, collaboration, personality differences, social inequities, and emotional burnout.

What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were a student?

It’s okay to make mistakes; being unsuccessful on a proficiency test doesn’t mean you are incompetent! You are in school because you are not perfect and you are learning. The best advice I was ever given in school was that learning is uncomfortable and if you are not feeling queasy at least once on a daily basis then you are not going to get any better. You won’t learn from doing things right; you will learn from making mistakes and getting feedback. Feedback is your friend! Don’t take yourself so seriously!

What piece of advice would you give to current students?

1) Take every bad experience and learn from it! There is a lesson you can learn about yourself and about nursing in everything that you do!
2) Maintain your professionalism during conflict. It is easy to get hot headed and say mean things but you will gain more respect from staying professional.
3) You don’t need to be perfect in practicum and you don’t need to know everything. Your practicum is a safe place for you to learn prior to being on your own.
4) Where you do your practicum is not where you have to get a job after.
5) Make friends with unit clerks. They know the ward better than anyone else.
6) Advocate and stand up for yourself; just because you are a student doesn’t mean that you are always wrong.
7) Get involved with your professional bodies like ARNM while you are still a student. It will open doors.
8) Get your assignments done early! All nighters suck!
9) When you feel like you are alone remember there is always someone else going through the same thing. Reach out to your friends, teachers, coworkers; they have all probably been there before!
10) Nursing school goes by way too fast! Enjoy it while you can!

Thank you Paige for sharing your experience and words of wisdom!

The Christine A. Tanner award is an annual award given to the best major article submitted to the Journal of Nursing Education. Nursing department Research, Scholarship and Quality Assurance Coordinator, Kim Mitchell was the 2019 winner of this award for her article “Constructing Writing Practices in Nursing” published in the July 2018 issue of the journal. Kim’s article explores writing practices in nursing from the undergraduate to the professional level, which are influenced by the academicization of nursing education that accompanied the movement of nursing education from the hospital to the university environment. She proposes that writing assignments can be a mechanism to close the gap between theoretical nursing knowledge and practical knowledge. The paper introduces a socially constructed model of writing that identifies the domains of writing to include identity development, creative and emotional knowing, relational aspects, and context.

Kim’s research work, including this paper, are part of her doctoral studies exploring writing self-efficacy in nursing education. The model described in the award-winning paper has been used to develop a measurement tool for assessing writing self-efficacy and is currently being tested with undergraduate nursing students at Red River College, the University of Manitoba, and Brandon University. The Journal of Nursing Education has made Kim’s article publically available on their website for one year.

The Journal of Nursing Education is one of the leading high impact nursing education journals. Further information about the Christine A. Tanner Award and a link to Kim’s award-winning publication can be found here.

The focus of this blog is in line with Halloween. I went around asking some of my colleagues about anything spooky they might have encountered as a nurse. As always, there were many comments about the “full moon.” Most nurses I know truly believe that a full moon can influence the behaviors of the patients they care for. Many of the nurses I spoke to stated that the full moon effect was involved in ER visits and random wanderings of their patients. Not sure if the next couple of stories are connected to the full moon.

One story an instructor told me that sent shivers down my spine involves the maternity unit at St. Boniface. The unit used to be a children’s unit and patients on the unit have reported seeing a small child wandering in and out of their rooms all night. This small child has only ever been seen by the patients on the unit.

Another story that I know of involves Riverview Health Centre where mysterious doctors orders appear in the charts at night. These orders are signed by the Head Doctor who had died many years past. And the museum in the Princess Elizabeth is often found with the lights turning on and off at night by the security staff.

Health Science Centre is also not immune to strange sightings. A nurse shared that she once saw a large man wearing full cowboy regalia washing his hands outside an isolation room. This man tipped his cowboy hat at the nurse and went into the room. The nurse looked down and the man was floating. The room was unoccupied. This nurse asked a more senior nurse she was working with about the appearance of the man. The senior nurse replied “Oh, that sounds exactly like Mr. ____. He passed away in that room several months ago.”

Other stories shared involve sightings of Sasquatches while driving on isolated highways. One person even shared that she personally saw a sasquatch when she was a small child. Stating that she “looked outside and saw a very large hairy man looking into the cottage. Then she screamed and her parents could not console her.”

Something to ponder as we approach Halloween. If you happen to have your own encounter, try to remember to check if it was a full moon.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Post written by Corrina Zacharkiw – Nursing instructor

Contributions from various Nursing faculty