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NATIONAL MAY 9-15•2016

nursing weekNurses: With you every step of the way

BY ANNA CABRERA CRISTOFARO Shady Sleiman is in high spirits.

He’s home after his last exam of the semester, and is greeted by a chorus of squeals and laughter from his fi ve- and two-year-old children. The 31-year-old nurs-ing student at St. Clair College is a father, husband, former mental health and addictions support worker, and now a peer tutor to some of the most dedicated stu-dents in the city – and he couldn’t be happier.

Sleiman, whose wife is an RN, says he’d always wanted to pursue a career in the medical fi eld. “You know that saying, ‘When you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life?’” muses Sleiman. “That’s what these last two years have meant to me. Yes, this pro-gram is hard. Yes, there are chal-lenges being a student and a dad and juggling daily life – but when the passion is there, when the calling is there, you want to excel. And you want the people around

you, with you, to excel too.”It’s this passion that drew

the likeable Sleiman into a se-lect group of hardworking RPN and BScN students specifi cally chosen to act as peer tutors for struggling or challenged students. Praised as jewels of St. Clair Col-lege, this group – made up of Slei-man, Emilija Stojsavljevic, Saanya Saeed, Brianna Parker and Kris-tine Bodnar – are considered ex-ceptional students by the college and chosen based on their GPA and feedback provided by their clinical instructors. Representa-tives from the college have said that its nursing lab, where the peer tutors are based, “is a longstand-ing asset to student learning, and we value it tremendously as do our students.”

Bodnar, originally from Latvia, agrees. “Personally, being a peer tutor is a great opportunity to help others, but it’s also to con-tinue to learn and refresh myself on material. I’ve benefi ted a lot on how to communicate, to help

people express their concerns. It’s much more for me than just going through materials our peer might not have understood the fi rst time around in class.”

For Stojsavljevic, the pursuit of her dream of becoming a nurse has fueled her drive to help oth-ers. Born in Paris, the 41-year-old mother of three girls was told by her parents that nursing wasn’t a profession for a woman. Instead, she completed a law and busi-ness degree in Europe, and came to Canada 15 years ago, where she took on a general labourer posi-tion in the automotive industry.

“Having been told I couldn’t do something, and now following that path – it has strengthened me,” she says. “I want to lift people up. I enjoy giving my time and knowl-edge and when they come back to me and tell me they nailed their exam, that’s my positive reward.

“That to me is the core of this profession – loving what you do,

Rewards of peer tutoring

Shady Sleiman, second year Practical Nursing Student at St. Clair College was chosen as a peer tutor, P H O T O - E D G O O D F E L L OWS E E P E E R H 3

Select group enhances learning experience

Hôtel-Dieu Grace HealthcareHonours its Nurses

“As a Registered Nurse for more than 30 years, I understandthe hard work and dedication involved in your role.Your tireless efforts continue to help HDGH cultivate ahealthier community.

On behalf of everyone at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.

Thank You! ”

Janice KafferPresident & CEO

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare

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Theresa Marentette graduated from the nursing program at the University of Windsor in 1983, and completed her Masters in Science and Nursing shortly after. She be-gan her illustrious career in the hospital setting, where she found a home in neonatal intensive care. In 1990, she changed paths, mov-ing into public health.

“Why public health?” muses the soft-spoken Marentette. “After having basically worked in every nursing position at the health unit – from vaccinations, school nurs-ing, the sexual health clinic and manager of the clinical services department – I think I can speak to why I made the change and why I stayed.”

Marentette re-calls working 12 hour days in ICU, all while juggling the duties of mom to young children. She remembers meeting a public health nurse, who would follow up with the parents of babies shortly after birth, “and it was that conver-sation that got me thinking about do-ing public health,” she says. Marentette took on a full time role at the health unit, while working alternate weekends at the hospital. While o� cially on maternity leave in 1991 and 1993, she stayed part time on at the hos-pital, but when the decision to go back to full time hours arose, “I felt I had good experience at the hospi-tal and thought I could contribute to public health.”

Today, Marentette serves as Di-

rector of Health Protection with the Windsor Essex County Health Unit, a position she accepted in 2012.

Last year, Marentette joined neo-natologist Dr. Godfrey Bacheyie on a trip to Ghana, where the beloved doctor had dreamed of building a medical facility. “It was something he had talked about during 12 hour shifts in ICU,” says Marentette. “He would talk about Africa, and he was so passionate about it, and I always thought that was something I could do too. But when you have little ones, they need you… and it wasn’t something I could do at the time.

“So when the opportunity knocked… I just knew.”

Marentette and her husband, Greg, had booked a trip to Ireland for the summer of 2015; shortly before their departure, she caught an ad in the paper looking for volunteers on an upcoming Ro-tary Club of Wind-sor (1918) mission to Ghana. Without hesitation, she and Greg fl ew to Ghana with 22 other vol-

unteers, including other nurses, x-ray technicians and a social worker.

Marentette was overwhelmed. “We did so many things, yet I look back and think it was probably not enough. The need there is so great.”

The volunteer group gathered together large hockey bags fi lled with toothbrushes, clothing, shoes and other necessities for daily liv-ing. They also distributed back-packs to an elementary school,

filled with notebooks, crayons, pencils and paper. “You remem-ber those simple moments,” says Marentette, “and you realize how hard the poverty is to describe.

“It makes it a challenge to come back here and see such excess. The world looks like an entirely di� er-ent place once you return.”

While some of the other vol-unteers worked on renovating a school and youth centre, a proj-ect facilitated by the Rotary Club, Marentette says her one of favou-rite memories was working with the other nurses on the nurse prac-titioner clinic in a small village. “It was wonderful spending those few days there – because I’m in public health, this was an eye opener for me.”

The tiny clinic, Marentette dis-covered, houses the community health clinic, the sexual health and family planning clinic, and the postnatal visit clinic. Patients arrive here on foot, and sit or stand for hours as if in an assembly line, waiting for their turn to be seen. For the healthcare workers deter-mined on making home visits to see new mothers, their challenge is transportation – many will walk up to two hours just to see a mother and her newborn baby.

“To give what care we could give… there are no words,” says Maren-tette. “And these are just some of the stories I was witness to. There’s so much more to be done.

“But as a health care profes-sional in this wonderful country, it does change you… you want to do more, give more, be as much as you can be to those here and to do what you can - if you can - for those where there is so much need.”

Nurses in this remote village will walk up to two hours to see a newborn child and her mother. “That’s a challenge we never even consider here, where we have the luxury of driving,” says Marentette. “They have so much compassion and drive that it is inspiring.”

Marentette is pictured with new and expectant mothers who are overjoyed to be given mosquito netting to prevent the spread of malaria. “They asked us, ‘What do you do to prevent malaria where you’re from?’ They were shocked when we told them we don’t have malaria.”

Theresa Marentette is joined by fellow volunteers at the Ghana Health Service building in mid-2015.

T H E R E S A M A R E N T E T T E , R N

NATIONAL nursing weekMission to GhanaVolunteer sees different side of nursing

The world looks like an entirely di� erent place once you return.”

celebrates you.Extraordinary gratitude for the compassionate care

provided by nurses every day.You are the support, education and empowerment thatmore than 2,000 patients and families rely on each year.

Thank you.

www.thehospice.ca

NURSINGATWINDSOR.

FLEXIBLE PROGRAMS. HIGHLY QUALIFIED FACULTY. NEW CHALLENGES.

LEARNMORE1.800.864.2860@UWinNursingUWindsor.ca/nursing nurse@uwindsor.ca

Undergraduate program:• Collaborative HonoursBScN (highest 7-yearaccreditation rating)

Graduate programs:• Master of Nursing (course-based)• Master of Nursing (Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner)• Master of Science in Nursing (thesis-based)• Graduate Diploma – Advanced Practice Oncology/Palliative Care (online)• Graduate Diploma – Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner(for MN graduates)• NEW! PhD in Nursing – starting Fall 2017

Through our research intensive culture and nationally recognized faculty members, we offer

quality programs that prepare students to improve health services and health outcomes of

individuals, families, groups and communities in our constantly changing healthcare system.

Our graduates pursue careers as clinicians, educators, researchers, advocates and leaders.

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believing there are no limits.“This is truly the only job I

would do without pay.”Second year student Saanya

Saeed said she set her sights on

becoming a peer tutor in first year, when she watched other tu-tors’ relationships with other stu-dents. “These will be your peers long after you leave school,” she says. “It doesn’t take away from you – actually, it drives you to

work harder. If I can help people, and know that helping them will then help others… how could you not want to do that in a heart-beat?”

Sleiman shares Saeed’s senti-ment. Now ready and eager to enter the workforce after two years of sacrifi ce and hard work, says he’ll always be available to anyone at any stage of his career to help, if and when he can.

“Anyone who comes to seek tu-toring has initiative. So for me, it’s never about regurgitating infor-mation – it’s about what’s beneath the desire to learn. In this fi eld you might be working with some-one’s mom, someone’s grandma, someone’s daughter. It becomes more than just technical explana-tions from a textbook.

“When someone gets it, when I’m able to help, it means I under-stand the work… and I’ll be able to do just what I said I would do - to provide what I promised, the highest level of care.”

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Queen Elizabeth II Scholars Program

The Queen Elizabeth II Scholars (QES) Program is an innovative program for students with an interest in pallia-tive care, and is managed through a valuable partnership between Universities Canada, the Rideau Hall Foundation (RHF), Community Foundations of Canada (CFC) and Canadian universities.

Samantha Kellam, a Masters student at the University of Windsor, was the fi rst recipient of the scholarship and journeyed to England in January of this year to further her studies at Keele University. While at Keele, she has worked at two hospices – at Donna Louise Children’s Hospice and at Douglas Macmillan Hospice.

“Samantha was one of our undergrad students and she was also a Lancer,” says Dr. Kathy Pfa� , an assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing. “When she

applied for this, it was clear she was the most stellar.”Kellam committed to at least 90 days – a full semester – at

Keele. The area of research she decided to undertake was in refl ection, a practice commonly exercised in England but less frequently here.

“The health care team in hospice there fully refl ect at the end of their work day,” explains assistant professor Dr. Laurie Freeman-Gibb. “She’s studying the ben-efi ts of refl ection – how that impacts a team, or the individual.

“That’s typically not something we see here in Canada, and she wants to under-stand that. That’s the benefi t of these pro-grams – to learn from them what they do

there that we don’t do here, and vice versa. It’s all about improving care.”

Students interested in applying for a scholarship to Keele University in England must meet the following require-ments: scholars must enrolled in a Master’s or doctoral

program in a health science or related fi eld at the University of Windsor, while interns must be enrolled in an Honours undergraduate health science program at the University of Windsor and must travel to Keele University in the spring or summer between the third and fourth year of their undergraduate program. All applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and 35 years of age or under at the time of application. All

other requirements can be found at: http://www.uwind-sor.ca/nursing/386/queen-elizabeth-ii-scholars-program

For more information, please contact:· Dr. Kathy Pfa� - 519.253.3000, x4977 or kpfa� @uwind-

sor.ca, or· Dr. Laurie Freeman-Gibb - 519.253.3000, x2278 or

lgibb@uwindsor.ca

Samantha Kellam

Dr. Kathy Pfaff

A C A D E M I C - H O S P I T A L PA R T N E R S H I P S F O C U S E D O N M E D I C A T I O N S A F E T Y : A W I N - W I N F O R E V E RY O N E

Medication administration is recognized as a high risk activity in healthcare. It is a complex process that includes ensuring the “rights” are met- the right patient, right medication, right dose, right time, right site, right reason. It is an ideal area to partner with expert practi-tioners in the redesign of medica-tion practices that support safety for patients, students, faculty, and organizations.Guided by the emerging science of patient safety, the Faculty of Nurs-ing at the University of Windsor has been focused on redesigning stu-dent nurse medication policy and practices. The establishment of the Interdisciplinary Medication Safety Committee, which includes clinical nurse leaders and pharmacists from Windsor Regional Hospital and Hotel Dieu Healthcare Centre, was a key component of the suc-

cess of this effort. This committee has received international attention by leaders in quality and safety who have described this partnership as ideal - but rare.This partnership has resulted in many benefits. New hospital poli-cies, practices and equipment are shared allowing this information to be immediately integrated into the curriculum. Nursing students are taught up-to-date hospital medication practices allowing for an easier transition when they graduate and enter the workforce. Faculty have shared evidence based practices that have influenced the redesign of medication practices in the hospitals. All members have embraced the challenges of this work, recognize its importance in preparing tomorrow’s nurses and the share the overall goal of safe patient care.

NATIONAL nursing weekC O N T I N U E D F R O M H 1

Peer tutors: Valuable resource for students

Emilija Stojsavljevic

Brianna Parker

Saanya Saeed

Kristine Bodnar

Dr. Laurie Freeman-Gibb

HONOURINGHONOURINGOUR NURSESOUR NURSES

We appreciate yourWe appreciate yourIntegrity, CommitmentIntegrity, Commitment

&&DedicationDedication

Canadian Mental Health Association,Windsor-Essex County Branch

1400 Windsor Ave.519-255-7440 • www.windsoressex.cmha.ca

Honouring all of theNurses in our Community!

Stay Connected!www.stclairalumni.com

Like us onfacebookwww.facebook.com/st.clairalumni

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nursesknow.ona.org

It takes a lot to be a Registered Nurse.

An extensive education. Long hours

gaining experience and developing

specialized skills. And a lifetime

of dedication, awareness and

compassion. That’s not only our

profession, it’s our calling.

We are Ontario’s nurses.

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NATIONAL nursing weekBeing a nurse doesn’t always

mean you work in a hospital. It sometimes means that you are directly in the community work-ing in long-term care, visiting schools or even managing crisis.

The Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team is a client-centered, recovery-oriented men-tal health service delivery model that has received substantial empirical support for facilitating community living, psychosocial rehabilitation, and recovery for persons who have the most seri-ous mental illnesses, and have not benefited from traditional out-patient programs.

This team is directed by a team coordinator and a psychiatrist and includes a number of sta� from the core mental health dis-ciplines, at least one peer special-ist, and a program/administrative support sta� who all provide sup-port 24 hours per day, seven days

a week. This team provides inten-sive services that are based on cli-ent needs and a mutually agreed upon plan between the client and sta� .

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare RPN Kevan Vine knows this role very well as many of his days are spent within the community of Windsor- Essex as part of the ACT.

“My day starts withcomplet-ing reports from the previous shift and remarking on specifi c client di� culties or successes,” notes Kevan. “The role really is about ensuring support for meet-ing basic needs and performing activities of daily living.”

As part of an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals supporting up to 200 individuals a year, Kevan promotes comfort and relieves strife for those suf-fering with mental health con-cerns. He is often the fi rst line of communication when one needs it most and continues to be there every step of the way.

K R I S T I N D I C A R L O , N U R S E P R A C T I T I O N E R

Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) Nurse Practitioner Kris-tin DiCarlo has been changing lives in our community since 2007 when she began her career in Windsor-Essex. Five years later, she joined the HDGH team serving 500 patients annually in their cardiac rehabilitation journey.

The program at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare takes place in the newly renovated, state of the art Rehabilitation and Wellness Centre on the Tafour Road campus. It is a six month journey for those patients who have experienced a recent cardiac event such as a heart attack or angioplasty or have received major cardiac surgery.

“My days are always very busy. They consist of direct patient care, reviewing bloodwork results, diag-nostic tests and consulting with my physician partners. I am respon-sible for monitoring each patient

as they progress through the pro-gram,” explained DiCarlo.

Knowing that each patient deserves the best quality care pos-sible is always on the forefront of DiCarlo’s mind. As challenging as the nursing profession can some-times be, she explains the rewards often outweigh the di� culties.

“I am a member of a fantas-tic team of professionals here at Cardiac Wellness. This is a moti-vating and positive environment

where we really highlight the team approach. The patients we see are just as much a member of our team as the sta� , “she said passionately.

Although Di Carlo is quite liter-ally with her patients every step of the way, her education, expe-rience and passion remains with them much after their six month program is complete ensuring they feel empowered to manage their health moving forward in their lives.

Nurse Practitioner Kristin DiCarlo and patient.

K E VA N W I N E S , R P N

Doesn’t skip a beat with cardiac patients 23 years working with people who suffer from mental illness

Celebrating

Public Health NursesBuilding a strong andhealthy community!

“We are Ontario Nurses,Nurses know”

Local 8 wishes our nurses a Happy Nurses’ Week & Thank You foryour devotion to your patients in our Windsor-Essex Community

WITH HEARTFELT APPRECIATIONFOR OUR DEDICATED

NURSES

A special thank you to our nursingand caregiving staff and the nursesat our local hospitals,CCAC and in thecommunity forthe work youdo every day….helping patients…and living ourbelief thatseniors deserveexceptionalcare.

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