Bloomberg Nursing alumni, Tracey DasGupta (BScN 1991, MN 2007), Farah Khan (MN 2009) and Chantal Sorhaindo (MN – NP 2019) are the recipients of the 2024 University of Toronto Arbor Awards. The awards celebrate their dedication as alumni volunteers and their lasting impact on the future generation of nurses. U of T President Meric Gertler presented the awards on January 21st, at The Carlu in downtown Toronto.
“I can’t think of three more deserving alumni than Tracey, Farah and Chantal, to receive this prestigious award,” says Robyn Stremler, Dean of the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. “In their volunteer capacity as preceptors, committee members, and mentors, they have continuously built upon a vision of a more diverse and connected nursing workforce and we are grateful for the time they have given and continue to give to our learners at the Faculty.”
Established in 1989, the University of Toronto Arbor Awards have a longstanding tradition of recognizing exceptional volunteers from across the alumni community. Seen as one of the highest honours among the alumni community, it is bestowed on those whose volunteer efforts personify the university’s motto“Velut Arbor Aevo,” – “May it grow as a tree though the ages.”
DasGupta on sharing her wisdom
“I have always seen myself as an extension of the University of Toronto and part of the larger vision. When you get invited back to speak to classes or mentor students, I see it as a bridge between one generation and the next that builds on U of T’s vision to have a global impact,” says Tracey DasGupta who is the Director of Interprofessional Practice at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.
Recognized for her role as nursing preceptor, DasGupta is passionate about building a positive work environment for new nurses. She sees precepting and mentorship as a bi-directional relationship, learning and growing alongside her mentees whom she says often bring a deep purpose for improving the health care system.
“Being a preceptor provides this amazing opportunity to lead from any chair – you don’t need to be in a formal leadership role. As nurses this is our opportunity to support learning and retention across our workforce, making positive changes,” says DasGupta.
Speaking of what she calls her “wiggly” career path, DasGupta reflects on how her role as a nurse leader, followed by some time away to raise her family, and a return to the bedside before finding herself again in a leadership position, all instilled in her how much room for personal growth and leadership opportunities there are in all nursing roles.
“My inspiration to go into nursing has always been my father, who lived with muscular dystrophy, which has always motivated my desire to improve health care, whether that is on the oncology unit, in palliative care, community nursing or in the classroom,” says DasGupta.
Khan on the importance of mentorship
For Farah Khan being a preceptor has been an opportunity to do something she loves and is good at, mentoring and shaping the direction of new and advanced practice nurses.
When she entered the nursing profession, Khan who is the Senior Vice President, Patient Care Services at Trillium Health Partners, had challenges finding mentors who personally understood the biases and struggles she faced as a woman of colour. While she shares that her mentors were exceptional in helping her work through challenges, she also credits her own courage to helping her overcome obstacles in her career path.
“I realized that if you’re not at the table, you need to pull yourself a chair, and if there are other people who also should be at the table, pull up another chair and bring them too. This is one way to bring about change in the health care system,” says Khan.
Winning this award is both an honour, says Khan, and a full circle moment. She first started her university career at UTM, but left to finish her nursing studies at Humber College. A clinical instructor for Bloomberg Nursing’s undergraduate program, she began to consider her own leadership potential and completed the Master of Nursing program before becoming the MN-NP Placement Coordinator at the Faculty.
“It was once I started formally mentoring people that I realized that being a nurse and being a mentor was where my heart and passion were, including here at U of T, it is what has driven me to continue to stay involved,” says Khan.
In addition to serving as a preceptor, Khan shares that her recent role as a member of Bloomberg Nursing’s inaugural Equity Diversity Inclusion and Indigenous Reconciliation (EDIIR) Committee was particularly fulfilling. It was at this table she says that she was able to bring her experiences as a community partner, alumni, and former faculty to help Bloomberg Nursing think more proactively about inclusivity.
As for other nursing alumni, Khan is eager to encourage them to get involved especially as preceptors.
Learn more about becoming a preceptor at Bloomberg Nursing.
“Precepting and mentoring provides the learning you won’t get in a textbook, and I would encourage nurses who have an MN degree to never underestimate the impact they can have as preceptors, we need a diverse pool of people to make a difference,” says Khan.
Sorhaindo reflects on representation
Chantal Sorhaindo a primary care nurse practitioner at St. Michael’s Hospital also believes precepting is integral for nurses to gain a fulsome understanding of what it means to be a nurse, and that giving back your time as a preceptor will eventually benefit the health care system for everyone.
“Having a preceptor who cares, who wants to help a new nurse do their best and provide them with an understanding of the variability that comes with the profession in terms of its scope, leadership and scholarship, is actually building the health system of tomorrow,” says Sorhaindo. “That nurse might be taking care of you one day, so why not teach them well.”
Sorhaindo who has also volunteered as the co-Chair of the Faculty’s inaugural EDIIR Committee, and as a reviewer for program applications, says that when she posted about receiving the Arbor Award on her social media, a former student reached out and shared that she was inspired that the role of NPs as preceptors and as volunteers was being recognized. For Sorhaindo, the moment was a reminder of the importance of visibility and representation as a Black woman, and that her decision to engage in volunteerism at the Faculty also serves a greater purpose in allowing students to see what is possible for them too.
“When I started in the NP program there were no Black faculty or Black teaching assistants, but this past semester I was a clinical instructor working alongside a TA who was also a Black woman, and that was huge and an important step in terms of representation,” says Sorhaindo.
Growing up in a family that worked in health care and having been a patient herself for much of her childhood following a scoliosis diagnosis, Sorhaindo says she knew from an early age the importance of health care and service. She fell in love with primary care, being able to work with people from pregnancy test to funeral and everything in-between and it is this passion that continues to drive her motivation to mentor and give back to future nurses.
“Getting to know students, empowering them and encouraging them allows you to also connect with what will come to be your future colleagues and friends. We don’t do this job of nursing alone, we are a community,” says Sorhaindo.