May 14, 2012

Nursing has been at the crux of all we do at Women’s College Hospital (WCH) for over a century. It’s no wonder then that many of our remarkable nurses have been practising for years and are willing to share their wealth of knowledge and expertise.

That’s why WCH was so proud to support five nurses who participated in HealthForceOntario’s Late Career Nurse Initiative. The program, funded by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, provides nurses age 55 and older the opportunity to engage in less physically demanding nursing roles, such as mentoring other nurses or teaching patients, for 20 per cent of their time.

Jane Mosley, chief nursing executive, health disciplines and professional affairs, stresses the importance of providing new and unique opportunities to nurses later in their careers.

“At Women’s College, we encourage our staff and physicians to take on different responsibilities and learn new skills throughout their careers,” says Mosley. “Through this program, nurses are able to identify and work on new initiatives that can have a very positive impact on patient care.”

Each of the nurses who participated completed a project contributing to excellence in care. The nurses and their projects are:

1. May Lem, RN, surgical services, Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU): Reviewed and updated the PACU Patients’ Care Manual to more efficiently and effectively assist patients.
2. Christine Morgan, RN, surgical services, operating room: Researched, developed and piloted a nurse liaison role for the pre-operative orthopedic patient and family. The liaison nurse follows the patient and family throughout the surgical experience – from admission to surgical day care, through surgery and during the recovery period.
3. Mira Selimovic, RN, surgical services, operating room: Developed a standardized protocol for best practice (evidence-based) for surgical skin preparation in the operating room.
4. Victoria Scott, nurse and counsellor, Bay Centre for Birth Control: Reviewed and updated a documentation tool that facilitates standardized patient risk assessments for domestic violence.  She also developed and piloted an assessment tool to identify health-care professional learning needs related to domestic violence.
5. Joanne Raper, RN, Family Practice Health Centre: Developed the role of ‘Superuser’ to support family practice staff with their new electronic documentation system.

All five nurses chose to participate so they could leave a legacy at WCH. 

“I want to offer my wisdom from years of experience to the next generation of nurses in my department,” says Scott. “In return, the younger nurses gave me a fresh perspective.”

For more information on the Late Career Nurse Initiative, click here.