Nurses leading change: How HHS nurses are shaping health care across Canada
At Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), nurses aren’t just delivering exceptional care. They’re also leading the future of health care across Ontario and Canada. This nursing week, we’re introducing you to five nurses who are developing national guidelines, serving on professional boards, and mentoring the next generation of nurses. Through these roles, HHS nurses are helping drive evidence-based excellence on a provincial and national scale. These five leaders exemplify how HHS supports nurses to grow, lead, and make an impact far beyond our hospital walls.
Alana Aquino: Building national standards from the ground up
Alana Aquino, RN, Nurse Clinician Educator, McMaster University Medical Centre
“I’ve always felt supported to explore opportunities like this.”
Creating national guidelines was more intense than I ever imagined, but incredibly rewarding. I joined the Guideline Development Group (GDG) for the Canadian Vascular Access Association (CVAA) through a blind application process. Using tools like the ADAPTE methodology and AGREE II, our team of nurses, pharmacists, educators spent almost two years reviewing existing evidence and best practices to develop the new guidelines.
What stood out most was the opportunity to collaborate with such dedicated, strong, smart and capable women. The professional and personal connections I made are unmatched. This work gave me a deeper appreciation for the rigorous process behind every guideline and boosted my confidence as an educator and clinician.
At HHS, we have a great culture of learning and growing as well as support from colleagues and leadership to try new things and become part of something bigger than ourselves. We have so many resources at our fingertips from our colleagues to our librarian services and everything in between. I’ve always felt supported to explore opportunities like this through encouragement from leadership and a work environment that promotes continuous growth.
Catherine Hunt: Advancing practice through teamwork and dedication
Catherine Hunt, RN, Hamilton General Hospital
“That environment makes HHS nurses natural leaders when it comes to national initiatives.”
When I applied to join the CVAA guideline development project, I had no idea just how much work it would involve. It was 1000 times more intense than I expected! It took nearly two years. Our team was composed of nurses from across Canada and the U.S., as well as pharmacists and industry experts. We reviewed every statement in the previous guidelines, researched new evidence, and built a stronger, more inclusive resource.
It was an incredible experience to collaborate with people from different specialties such as home care, ICU and pediatrics. I have a lot more respect for anyone who performs research to support best practices. I had no idea how much work was involved with publishing.
At HHS, we care for some of the most complex patient populations, and we are grounded in evidence-based practice. That environment makes HHS nurses natural leaders when it comes to national initiatives. We’re trained to advocate for best practice and are given the resources to stay at the forefront of our fields. It is experiences like this that show how HHS nurses are truly shaping health care across the country.
Sam Jennings: Elevating pain management through partnership
Sam Jennings, RPN, Urgent Care Centre
“Having the opportunity to participate in a provincial guideline like this is a reflection of how HHS empowers its nurses.”
Joining the RNAO Best Practice Guideline panel for pain management was a new experience for me, and an eye-opening one. As a student participant, while completing my Bachelor of Nursing, I contributed my eight years of oncology RPN experience to support the guideline development team. I had never taken part in such a wide review of the literature in any subject. This was a great opportunity to learn from nursing research experts.
We met regularly, reviewing recommendations and evidence with nurses, physiotherapists, researchers, and community members with lived experiences of pain. The discussion and literature review also included effective non-pharmacologic strategies for pain management, things like mindfulness, movement, and heat therapy, that can sometimes be overlooked.
At HHS, I’ve always felt encouraged to engage with the nursing profession beyond the bedside. Managers and directors support professional involvement, and that has been key to my growth. Having the opportunity to participate in a provincial guideline like this is a reflection of how HHS empowers its nurses to make meaningful contributions to best practice not just in Hamilton, but across Ontario.
Andrea Miller: Shaping the future, one nurse at a time
Andrea Miller, Nurse Practitioner, Juravinski Hospital and multi-site work
“There are so many creative and talented people at HHS.”
Over more than two decades of tutoring and teaching, first at McMaster University and now at the Bloomberg School of Nursing and Athabasca University, I’ve watched countless nursing students grow into confident, capable clinicians. It is beautiful to watch someone gain confidence with a technique or expand their understanding about a concept.
Being part of students’ journeys taught me a lot about myself, too, in terms of how to give clear, constructive feedback and how to uphold the standards of the nursing profession. I often asked myself: would I want this nurse caring for my family? Or if this was my younger sister or brother, how would I want someone to guide and teach them?
I really do feel privileged to serve my patients and to assist people who want to enter nursing in whatever capacity. Last week, an RPN reminded me of when we first met, and she had not done a catheterization. She remembered me helping her with a drawing, explanation and then at the bedside. I was so overcome that she remembered all of that and I had no recollection. It’s really humbling to make a difference like that.
Hamilton Health Sciences is a great learning environment because there are so many opportunities here. In my time as tutor have always been able to find another nurse to assist if a student had a question that needed expansion. There are so many creative and talented people at HHS – I have always been able to help a student make a connection to guide them into a personal interest. I love being a nurse practitioner.
Cheryl Page: Advancing oncology nursing across Canada
Cheryl Page, RN, Education & Development Clinician, Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre
“At HHS, nurses are immersed in a rich learning environment.”
As the Director-at-Large for Education on the national board of the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (CANO/ACIO), my role is to help identify the educational needs of oncology nurses across the country and develop resources and programming to meet them. From webinars to learning pathways, our work is all about advancing oncology nursing practice to benefit patients nationwide.
I like collaborating and learning from other oncology nurse across Canada. It is rewarding to support practitioners who promote and advance oncology nursing! There is a lot of outstanding work being done across Canada. By collaborating and sharing our work, nurses can collectively advance our practice more rapidly, leading to enhance patient care. What’s especially inspiring is seeing how much of this work is done on nurses’ own time. The dedication is incredible.
At HHS, nurses are immersed in a rich learning environment and exposed to some of the most complex patient care challenges. We’re trained in critical thinking, evidence-based practice, and leadership. These qualities make us strong contributors at the national level. I encourage every nurse to get involved with professional organizations. It’s a way to grow personally and professionally, and to influence the future of health care in Canada.
