National Nursing Week 2020: Celebrating the Leading Voices at Trent
Faculty, students, and graduates of The Trent/Fleming School of Nursing achieving excellence to advance nursing profession around the world
Each year, communities across Canada celebrate National Nursing Week to recognize the contributions of nurses, whose role in our lives is a matter of, well, life. Today, the value of that role is even more apparent as we all navigate the diverse challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
From May 11 to 15, Canada is celebrating the leadership of nurses in improving global health with the theme “A Voice to Lead.” Trent University is joining the celebration by highlighting examples of leadership by the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing.
Here are 10 ways that Trent University showed leadership and innovation in the nursing sector:
In March, Trent University announced a beneficial partnership to provide temporary housing options for healthcare workers at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre who wanted to self-isolate from their families while caring for patients.
Trent’s new Master of Nursing (M.Sc.N.) in Professional Practice Leadership, announced in January with Ontario Tech University, is helping the next generation of nursing leaders to drive, influence and navigate the demands of Canada’s rapidly changing healthcare landscape.
The first cohort of students in Trent’s new four-year multidisciplinary Kinesiology degree start in September 2020, and will have access to clinical courses in the School of Nursing, as well as hands-on placement opportunities to gain vital career experience in the competitive healthcare sector.
A first-of-its-kind program in Ontario, the Mental Health and Addiction Nursing graduate diploma allows registered nurses to develop their skills in the area of mental health and addiction. This part-time program is also suitable for working professionals.
Internationally educated nurses (IENs) are essential to creating a diverse workforce responsive to the expanding healthcare needs of Canada’s multicultural population, however, before IENs can contribute to the province’s workforce, they must meet the College of Nurses of Ontario requirements. Trent/Fleming School of Nursing led an initiative to support internationally educated nurses on a journey to becoming RNs in Ontario.
Professor Victoria Reid-De Jong shares her journey from nurse to breast cancer patient to Ph.D. candidate studying the impact of post-mastectomy tattoos in national media. She reveals how she is reconciling with the changes to her body, and what she is doing to not only help herself but also other breast cancer survivors transform scars and sorrow into adorned art.
7. When one of our nursing professors developed standards and best practices on global medical missions
Dr. Patti Tracey, a faculty member in the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing saw a need to standardize best practices of short-term medical missions to produce better outcomes for host countries. As the lead consultant on a research study, Professor Tracey has interviewed key health officials in Malawi, Honduras and the Philippines to develop best practices that she hopes will lead to change at both the individual organizational and policy level.
8. When second-year nursing students learned to be educators on local health practices in Honduras
Reading week became teaching week for ten Trent/Fleming School of Nursing students as they headed to Honduras as part of a community health placement. Accompanied by Trent Nursing professor Dr. Patti Tracey, the team led health promotion and education projects at the Reyes Irene School for Girls in the capital city Tegucigalpa, at PREPACE—a school and home for children with disabilities, and in the two rural villages of el Hato and el Suyatillo.
Known for their innovative and compassionate care, the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing (with support of a generous $200,000 gift from CIBC) is creating career-enhancing experiences for Trent nursing students that help broaden and deepen students' knowledge of cancer care before graduation.
10. When the School of Nursing launched a new program for youth to explore careers in nursing
To support high school students in finding their future career as a nurse, you create the pathway. The Trent/Fleming School of Nursing launched Camp S.T.A.T., a program for teens aged 15-18 to learn from students and experienced nurses about potential nursing career paths, and what differentiates Trent as a university training up the next generation of nurses.