Dean’s Corner November 2022
This month we celebrated the convocation of our Class of 2022 alongside welcoming our distinguished guest Annette Kennedy, President Emerita of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the recipient of a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the University of Toronto. In her speech to our nursing graduates and graduates of other health sciences faculties she reminded them to guard well the element of compassion that is the driving force behind much of our work in health care. When times are challenging as they continue to be for our colleagues across the health system, we can call upon our compassion as motivation to see us through.
In this month’s newsletter I invite you to read about BScN graduate Anna Licht who shared with us her story of managing both her nursing degree and her time as a member of the Women’s Canadian National Beach Volleyball Next Generation Program as well as her love for pediatric nursing. Summer Lee, also a BScN graduate, shares her thoughts on how she and her peers can be an inspiration to future generations of nurses, through the collective action of the profession, whether saving lives or advocating for one another.
This November, Bloomberg Nursing participated in recognizing National Pain Awareness Week, highlighting the fundamental and innovative research from some of our faculty members including Assistant Professor Lindsay Jibb and Associate Professor’s Monica Parry and Craig Dale that seek to help manage pain in certain populations, from pediatric cancer patients to women with heart disease. Bloomberg Nursing is also a partner in the interfaculty pain curriculum (IPC) at U of T. 2nd year BScN student Zaynashae Boreland, who will be participating in IPC curriculum in early 2023, also shared her motivation for learning more about pain management as part of her nursing degree.
We also cannot forget to celebrate and recognize the tremendous work of our nurse practitioners here in Canada and around the world as part of NP Awareness Week. In addition to all the hard work they do as part of their role in primary care, they are also imperative to our degree programs, in their capacity as mentors and teachers.
Given the continued capacity issues within our hospitals, I along with the Deans of the Health Sciences Faculties, have issued a strong recommendation for masking inside health sciences buildings on campus. In addition to our masking recommendation I want to also encourage our nursing students to get their flu shots whenever they are able. Appointments can be booked on campus through the Discovery Pharmacy clinic.
To all of you as we prepare for the busyness of exam season stay well.
Sincerely,
Linda Johnston PhD FEANS FCAHS FAAN
Dean and Professor
Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing