UWindsor nursing alumna Destiny Cadarette, pictured (left) with a colleague before an emergency department shift, says the medical drama The Pitt reflects many of the realities nurses face every day — including workplace violence, emotional strain, and the fast-paced demands of emergency care. (SUBMITTED BY DESTINY CADARETTE/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
What TV gets right
The medical drama The Pitt is doing more than drawing viewers — it’s sparking overdue conversations about violence in emergency departments, and the realities nurses face every day.
At the University of Windsor, faculty and frontline nurses say the show comes closer than any other to portraying life in the emergency department (ED), but it still only tells part of the story.
For Destiny Cadarette (BScN ‘17), an ED nurse in Windsor now pursuing her nurse practitioner designation, the show hits close to home.
— Published on May 15th, 2026
Dr. Linda Patrick, Professor Emerita and former dean of the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Nursing, has received the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her decades of leadership and contributions to nursing practice, education, and research. (FILES/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
For more than five decades, Dr. Linda Patrick has helped shape nursing in Ontario as a clinician, educator, administrator, researcher, mentor and advocate.
This year, the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) recognized that impact with one of its highest honours, the Lifetime Achievement Award.
— Published on May 14th, 2026
University of Windsor nursing students and faculty sourced sustainable menstrual kits prepared for girls attending a leadership and health education program in Tanzania as part of a global health experiential learning initiative. (SUBMITTED BY RACHEL ELLIOTT/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
A group of University of Windsor nursing students have turned a transformative global experience into research, reflection and recognition.
Their manuscript, based on a three-week experiential learning trip to Tanzania last year, has been published in the Global Qualitative Nursing Research journal — marking a significant milestone for both the students and faculty involved.
— Published on May 15th, 2026
Ali Mozafari during medical first responder training at a Canadian Armed Forces base in Windsor through St. John Ambulance, one of many experiences he pursued beyond the classroom to deepen his understanding of patient care and strengthen his path toward a career in healthcare. (SUBMITTED BY ALI MOZAFARI/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
Ali Mozafari’s path through the University of Windsor has been anything but linear.
A fourth-year nursing student with research experience spanning health sciences and engineering, his story is defined by resilience, curiosity and determination.
“Honestly, it’s been a chaotic journey,” he said. “But I’m proud of how I turned it around and everything I’ve been able to do since.”
— Published on May 13th, 2026
Professor Sherry Morrell, one of the faculty leaders behind the creation and development of UWindsor’s RN Prescribing program, leads nursing students through an experiential learning exercise. Canada’s first cohort of registered nurses with prescribing authority will graduate this spring. (MICHAEL WILKINS/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
As Canada continues to confront longer wait times and growing pressure across a strained health-care system, the University of Windsor is preparing to mark a national milestone that reflects both urgency and innovation in care delivery.
— Published on May 12th, 2026
Dean Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine co-edited Giddens’s Concepts for Canadian Nursing Practice, a new national textbook featuring contributions from experts across the country, including several UWindsor nursing faculty. (RONAK DOOWD/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
At the University of Windsor Faculty of Nursing, classroom concepts have moved into print.
A new national publication featuring several faculty contributors is doing more than filling a gap in academic literature — it’s helping define how future nurses across Canada will learn, think and practise.
— Published on May 11th, 2026
Dr. Natalie Giannotti, pictured with her father, says her work has taken on new meaning through her personal experience supporting him through his cancer journey. Her research examines gaps in the Canadian healthcare system and the need for reliable, patient-centred care. (SUBMITTED BY NATALIE GIANNOTTI/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
Dr. Natalie Giannotti’s research has always focused on improving patient safety and healthcare systems.
But it wasn’t until she found herself navigating the system as a daughter, supporting her father through his cancer diagnosis and treatment, that the gaps she had long studied became personal.
— Published on Apr 28th, 2026
The Faculty of Nursing welcomes Professor Rebecca Balasa to the University of Windsor. Her experience in nursing and public health, along with her research on child health equity, brings valuable insight to our community. (SUBMITTED BY REBECCA BALASA/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
For Dr. Rebecca Balasa, the path to nursing didn't start in a classroom.
Her own experiences as a pediatric patient introduced her to the role nurses play, not only in delivering treatment, but in providing comfort and connection.
“I was really inspired by my own healthcare team,” she said. “It was through my relationships with nurses and seeing everything they do that I decided to go into the profession.”
That sense of purpose continues to guide her as she joins the University of Windsor’s Faculty of Nursing.
— Published on Apr 22nd, 2026
Jane Simanovski (left) and her team of colleagues and students stand with their research poster at the WE-SPARK conference in March, highlighting a cross-border study on caregivers supporting lung transplant patients. (SUBMITTED BY EDWARD CRUZ/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
It takes more than medical expertise to support a patient after a lung transplant.
As April marks Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Month, a new cross-border study examines an often-overlooked part of the transplant journey — the family members and friends who provide care after surgery.
— Published on Apr 21st, 2026
Corina Farai Makore, now a University of Windsor doctoral student researching correctional healthcare policy, is pictured at her 2015 MPH graduation from the University of North Texas Health Science Center. (SUBMITTED BY CORINA FARAI MAKORE/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
When Corina Farai Makore began her PhD at the University of Windsor, she wasn’t just pursuing a long-held personal goal, she was equipping herself to change a system.
As healthcare manager at the South West Detention Centre in Windsor, Makore leads 50 nurses and oversees a 10-bed infirmary providing 24/7 care for incarcerated patients.
At the same time, she is a scholar using her doctoral research to guide policy reform and strengthen correctional nursing in Ontario.
— Published on Apr 14th, 2026
UWindsor nursing alumna Destiny Cadarette, pictured (left) with a colleague before an emergency department shift, says the medical drama The Pitt reflects many of the realities nurses face every day — including workplace violence, emotional strain, and the fast-paced demands of emergency care. (SUBMITTED BY DESTINY CADARETTE/University of Windsor)
