Listening to Kathy Bird, an icon in the world of Aboriginal Nursing in Canada and keynote speaker at the Winnipeg A.N.A.C. Conference, my attention was captured as she began talking about her lived experience - her history as an Aboriginal woman, both as a nurse and a medicine woman. She spoke of her "bundle" of medicine in almost the same breath as her past in residential school; these were the… Read More »What do I walk with? by Wendy Bowles, NP
Have you ever had one of those days where you said to yourself “If I had the opportunity to go to Ottawa, I’d tell those politicians how to fix our health care system”? Well, that is just what happened for five nurses from B.C. who were part of the Canadian Nurses Association annual “day on the hill” lobby opportunity on November 25th, 2014. These nurses included two current CNA board… Read More »Canadian Nurses Association Lobby Day on Parliament Hill: Insights on Nursing as a Political Act
I run into a consistent portrait every time I head to the bank in Courtenay. A person in borrowed clothing with a head bowed in shame asks, “Can you spare some change?” I wonder, “How can a person like me… a citizen in a democratic society filled with opportunity who eats three meals a day and can afford tuition to start a career, not spare some time to consider what… Read More »Spare Some Change? by Jess Shannon, BSN Student
Recent commentaries by oncology health professionals, patients, journalists and the Minister of Health about the state of cancer care in British Columbia (BC) have revealed significant challenges to delivering timely, high quality cancer care in that province. It is likely that these challenges are actually felt across the country, and are not unique to B.C. Oncology health professionals, including nurses are working to their maximum with the vision to deliver… Read More »How nurses can contribute to transforming cancer care systems, by Tracy Truant, RN and Sally Thorne, RN
ARNBC does not generally print blogposts from anonymous sources. Ideally nurses could state their opinion on virtually any topic, without repercussions. However, the following blog was submitted by a nurse who feels so threatened in her workplace that she does not feel it would be safe to identify herself publicly. Bullying is a topic that we know impacts many nurses and we feel strongly that it is important to publish this piece… Read More »Do You Know if YOU are the Bully?
Each year the College of Registered Nurses of BC (CRNBC) presents Awards of Excellence to highlight the achievements of noteworthy Registered Nurses in British Columbia. One of these awards is for excellence in advocacy. According to CRNBC, the advocacy award is given to “registered nurses who have made outstanding efforts in advocating for health benefits to a specific group” (CRNBC, 2013). I was humbled and honoured to receive this award… Read More »Advocacy is the Core of Nursing, by Suki Grewal, RN
Your voice is our strength. You may have heard this statement used by ARNBC many times over the last four years. I saw this statement come to life with the nurses that attended the June 2014 Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) Annual General meeting. Annual general meetings (AGM) for any organization are often considered required, routine, and unremarkable. The CNA AGM held in Winnipeg on June 16th was different. The stakes… Read More »Legacy of National Nursing Leadership continues at the Canadian Nurses Association AGM, by Julie Fraser, RN, MN
The recent decision to close several of the main primary care clinics in Vancouver Coastal Health has brought to the forefront grave concerns for not only the public but those of us in higher levels of education who are teaching the principles of primary health care and population health. The UBC School of Nursing has had a long standing partnership with Pine Clinic where our nursing students at both the… Read More »Pine for PINE!!! by Joanne Ricci, RN, MScN
May 12, 2014 was a memorable day for nursing in British Columbia. For the first time in history, a group of 20 nurses travelled to the Legislature to launch nursing week. This was a celebratory event, bringing the family of nursing together to share our stories, and demonstrating our desire to work together with government and each other in a collaborative manner. Our group represented the whole nursing family -… Read More »Advocacy and Unity in Action, by Pam Burton, RN
For quite some time we have been hearing about Island Health’s[1. Formerly Vancouver Island Health Authority] Care Delivery Model Redesign (CDMR)[2. CDMR is the acronym for Island Health’s Patient Care Model – similar models may be employed in other health authorities under different names], a patient care model that, according to Island Health: “… not only improves patient care, it enhances the work environment for nursing staff by supporting nurses to… Read More »It’s Time to Talk about CDMR, by Paddy Rodney, RN
