Faculty of Nursing alumna and current sessional instructor Nicole Nantais, along with her second-year BScN students, have embarked on a new pilot project surrounding clinical education.
The nursing students are actively engaged in a mental wellness initiative by delivering teaching plans aimed at improving mental health to the Grade 9 physical education classes at Walkerville Collegiate Institute. In alignment with Ontario's Grade 9 Health and Physical Education curriculum, the goal of the program is to utilize an upstream approach to foster mental well-being and prevent mental health disorders among the adolescent population.
Lesson plans include topics such as stress reduction, coping strategies, self-care, and how to access mental health supports in the community.
“This new school health clinical placement is allowing nursing students to gain hands-on experience in the community setting while applying the theory they are learning in their mental health course to practice,” says Nantais.
The BScN students are gaining valuable experience by developing many essential nursing skills including collaboration, teaching and learning, and communication; they understand the nuances of community nursing and learn about the crucial role school health nurses play.
“We are hoping to expand this clinical rotation to more nursing students and reach more high schools in the Windsor-Essex area over the coming years,” says Nantais.
Community Health EducationVP Research and Innovation Shanthi Johnson, Dean of Nursing Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine, Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care Stan Cho, Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie, third-year students Alexa Finn, Isabel Cristofari, and Jana Duric, and Associate VP External Judy Bornais in nursing’s simulation lab.
The University of Windsor Faculty of Nursing welcomed Ontario’s minister of long-term care Stan Cho on March 13 for a tour that extended beyond the University to include visits to long-term care facilities in the Windsor and Sarnia regions.
Accompanied by MPP for Windsor - Tecumseh Andrew Dowie, Cho attended a roundtable discussion encompassing long-term care research, practice, and needs. Representatives from UWindsor faculties of nursing and human kinetics, and the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, shared information on their fields of study and practical experience.
“The Honourable Stan Cho’s visit was very engaging and productive,” says dean of nursing Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine. “Given our presenters’ diverse areas of expertise, we demonstrated how research and practice come together as solutions to ever-evolving long-term care needs, especially from the standpoint of responsiveness to care.”
Dr. Sheppard-LeMoine adds that inter-faculty research provides effective strategies to better understand how to support long-term care in the future.
Nursing students in long-term care clinical placements also attended the event and third-year student Lekha Patel shared her personal experience.
“My placement has really opened my eyes about quality of life as well as understanding different challenges that are associated with aging and the significant need for long-term care in our community,” says Patel. “As for the meeting, it was a great opportunity to hear about the various research initiatives at UWindsor, especially surrounding gerontology.”
A tour of nursing’s simulation lab provided Cho and Dowie a close-up look at its capabilities and how education in these critical spaces of learning helps prepare students for the workforce.
- Gam Macasaet
2024Guest ToursFaculty of Nursing launched the initial stages of what will become a new five-year strategic plan. Nursing has created an online survey and is requesting feedback.
The faculty’s previous interim strategic plan, 2020-23, was created prior to the campus-wide “Aspire: Together For Tomorrow” strategic planning process. Now that Aspire is in place, nursing’s initiative is the next step for the faculty.
“Since the institution-wide Aspire plan has already rolled out, we can build a sustainable plan that not only is an extension of Aspire, but also builds on recent successes of the faculty,” says dean of nursing Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine. “Now is the perfect time to develop and implement a faculty plan.”
A steering committee of staff, faculty, and students has been created to help facilitate the process. The online survey is intended to gather initial information on perceptions of the faculty, where it should be headed, and how people want to be engaged moving forward. It is open to the public as well as the campus community.
“I invite the entire campus and communities to share their thoughts and perspectives on the future of the Faculty of Nursing,” says Dr. Sheppard-LeMoine.
The survey is accessible here. Submissions are due by March 11. Survey participants will be eligible to win gift card prizes.
Strategic PlanAn online survey aims to gather insights and engage stakeholders in shaping the future direction of the Faculty of Nursing.
Ontario’s first Black director of public health, Lillie Johnson, attributes perseverance and compassionate care for advancing the nursing profession.
As the Faculty of Nursing concludes its journey through its Black History Month feature series, the spotlight shifts to Lillie Johnson, a trailblazing figure whose impact resonates in Canadian health care.
Born in Jamaica in 1922, Johnson received nursing and midwifery training in her home country and the United Kingdom. She immigrated to Canada in 1960, where she continued her pursuit of excellence in health care.
Johnson earned her BScN from the University of Toronto and became the first Black director of public health in Ontario in the Leeds-Grenville and Lanark district, a community located near Ottawa.
In 1981, Johnson’s advocacy and compassion led her to establish the Sickle Cell Association of Ontario, which aimed at supporting individuals grappling with sickle cell disease — a life-altering genetic blood disorder characterized by abnormal hemoglobin, leading to chronic pain and various complications. In 2006, the association successfully lobbied the government to include the disease in the newborn screening list to ensure early treatment for affected babies and reduce the risk of serious infections.
Throughout her career, Johnson’s dedication garnered widespread recognition and acclaim. She has been honoured with multiple awards, including the Toronto Public Health Champion Award, the Black Health Alliance Legacy Award, and the Order of Ontario, a testament to her enduring impact and perseverance to advancing health-care excellence.
Her commitment to the nursing profession inspired Black Canadian women and fostered increased representation, creating opportunities for Black individuals to attain positions of leadership and influence within the health-care sector.
For her 100th birthday, the Lillie Johnson Excellence in Nursing Award was launched in 2022 to celebrate her legacy by honouring nurses who exemplify compassionate care and advocacy.
As we reflect on her journey, we pay tribute to Lillie Johnson, a nursing pioneer whose legacy continues to inspire future generations in the health-care community.
Find more information on Lillie Johnson and the Lillie Johnson Excellence in Nursing Award.
- Aishwaria Baskar
Black History MonthBukola Salami’s transformative journey from neuroscience to nursing underscores her dedication to improving healthcare access and delivery for Black, migrant, and underserved populations.
During Black History Month, the Faculty of Nursing is featuring pioneers and difference-makers in the profession, past and present.
Bukola SalamiA famous author and minister once said, "Change your thoughts and you change your world."
That mindset resonates with UWindsor nursing alumna Bukola Salami (BScN 2004). Dr. Salami recalls events that led her to a different and rewarding career path in health sciences.
While still at high school in Toronto in 1998, she remembers job shadowing a nurse during a Black youth mentorship program, an experience that would prove pivotal in her life’s work.
With aspirations of attending medical school, Salami applied for neuroscience and received offers from universities.
“But I kept thinking about that mentorship,” she says. “It was instrumental in my decision to move from neuroscience to nursing and that’s when I enrolled at UWindsor.”
Salami credits her professors and student support services for empowering her to excel academically. While living in residence, she met colleagues who shared similar challenges adjusting to university life; Salami learned to appreciate the value of compassion and how reciprocating help allows a person to experience fulfilment and growth as a human being.
“It paved the way for me, and I had always thought that after I was done, I would help others by paving the way for someone else.”
Today, most of her nursing practice, research, and advocacy, focusses on improving health-care access and delivery for Black, migrant, and underserved peoples, especially among the younger population.
Salami’s notable accomplishments include:
Salami has also held several national advisory board positions and has been inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame as one of the youngest racialized representatives to receive this top international honour. She was also appointed Fellow of the Canadian Academy and American Academy of Nursing.
Salami is committed to continuing her passion for advocacy and offering expert counsel. Her goal is to influence societal perspectives and policymakers to address healthcare inequities, particularly in a rapidly evolving and, at times, tumultuous environment where the most vulnerable are at risk.
- Gam Macasaet
Black History MonthEric Tanlaka's research on the role of nurses in stroke rehabilitation seeks to enhance job fulfillment while bringing about changes to Ontario’s nursing curriculum.
Eric Tanlaka's research on the role of nurses in stroke rehabilitation seeks to enhance job fulfillment while bringing about changes to Ontario’s nursing curriculum.
During Black History Month, the Faculty of Nursing is featuring pioneers and difference-makers in the profession, past and present.
Eric TanlakaNursing professor Eric Tanlaka is part of a research team examining the role of nurses in stroke rehabilitation with the goal of improving job equity and augmenting Ontario’s nursing curriculum.
Funded by the Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario, the multi-phase research project reveals that hospital nurses performing functions in stroke rehabilitation units are not factored into the measurement of stroke rehabilitation outcomes — measurable results or effects that are assessed to determine the impact of a particular treatment or health-care action.
According to the study, while patients are in rehabilitation, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and speech-language pathologists are key members whose services are measured in such outcomes. However, nurses also play a critical role, spending the most time with patients and providing comprehensive care throughout their recovery process.
“Nurses are pivotal members of interprofessional stroke rehabilitation teams,” says Dr. Tanlaka. “Yet their role is not clearly defined, and their contributions are not documented and recognized.”
Tanlaka says that nurses exhibit wide-ranging expertise and hands-on involvement within stroke rehabilitation units. While some nurses have expressed a need for further education and training in this field, others have highlighted their proficiency and experience, but perceive themselves as unequal contributors to the stroke patient’s rehabilitation program.
Increased job equity would also generate opportunities for leadership and management roles, allowing for a more diverse career path and greater job fulfillment.
Tanlaka’s goal is to lay a foundation for developing competencies for stroke rehabilitation and have them incorporated into Ontario’s university-level nursing curriculum.
“By standardizing education in this field of nursing, we can empower future nurses with knowledge, skills, abilities, and confidence when they enter the workforce,” says Tanlaka. “In the end, patient care is enhanced while nurses providing that care feel more valued, respected, and connected to their stroke rehabilitation units.”
More information can be found in Tanlaka’s article, “The Role and Contributions of Nurses in Stroke Rehabilitation Units: An Integrative Review”.
- Gam Macasaet
Black History MonthBernice Redmon broke barriers as Canada’s first Black public health nurse and first Black nurse to be appointed into Victorian Order of Nurses in Canada. Photo courtesy of www.bernicecarnegie.com/carnegie-family
February marks Black History Month across Canada. To honour the legacy of Black communities, Faculty of Nursing is featuring nursing pioneers and difference-makers, past and present. We will share their history, successes, sacrifices, and victories.
Born Bernice Isobel Carnegie in Toronto in 1917, Bernice Redmon would become a trailblazer in nursing by breaking barriers as a Black Canadian nurse.
Redmon aspired to be a nurse. However, during the 1940’s, Black women were denied admission to Canadian nursing schools. Undeterred, Redmon pursued her nursing education in the United States at St. Phillip Hospital Medical College in Virginia. She graduated with a registered nursing degree 3 years later. Redmon earned a scholarship to continue her studies and would receive an additional degree in public health nursing.
After returning to Canada in 1945, Redmon began her career in Sydney, Nova Scotia. At Nova Scotia Department of Health, she became the first Black nurse to practice in public health.
Her dedication and passion for patient care led to her appointment to the Victorian Order of Nurses in Canada, making her the first Black nurse to achieve this honour.
Her contributions and accomplishments inspired organizations to advocate for equality for Black Canadians in health-care education and in the workplace. By the late 1940’s and 1950’s, more Black women began to be employed in Ontario hospitals, opening the door for nursing education in Canadian schools.
For more information on Bernice Redmon and the Carnegie family, please visit www.bernicecarnegie.com/carnegie-family.
To learn more about The Carnegie Initiative, please visit carnegieinitiative.com.
– Gam Macasaet
Black History MonthA new certification program at the University of Windsor will qualify nurses to prescribe medication.
A new certification program at the University of Windsor will qualify nurses to prescribe medication.
The Faculty of Nursing, in collaboration with Continuing Education and in association with the Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner consortium, is launching a certification program that will enable Registered Nurses (RNs) in Ontario to prescribe medication for specific treatment and health care such as contraception, immunization, smoking cessation, and topical wound care.
Until now, only specialized health-care professionals such as physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, chiropractors, and veterinarians had prescribing authority in the province. With the approval of the Ontario University Consortium RN Prescribing Education Program by the College of Nurses of Ontario, it is no longer the case.
Faculty of Nursing professors Sherry Morrell and Gina Pittman highlighted the program’s impact on the health-care system, and how it significantly changes the landscape of access to care and treatment with prescribed medication.
“For communities, the benefit is faster and easier access to specific treatments in Ontario,” says Dr. Morrell. “For instance, you no longer have to wait for a doctor’s appointment to obtain prescriptions for things such as birth control, medications to help you quit smoking, and travel medications to treat and prevent malaria and traveller’s diarrhea.”
Drs. Morrell and Pittman are also Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioners (PHCNPs) – medical professionals who have advanced education and training at the graduate level, allowing them to be autonomous primary care providers for Ontarians, including diagnosing and treating medical conditions, ordering and interpreting diagnostic tests, prescribing medications, referring to specialists, and generally acting as the individual’s first point of contact with the health care system.
“When the College of Nurses of Ontario requested University of Windsor to map a course program for this type of certification, the fit was perfect for Sherry and Gina since the essential RN-prescribing process was a natural extension of their established clinical expertise in the field, and their proven ability to formulate a program’s core competencies, testing methodology, and outcomes,” says Faculty of Nursing dean Debbie Sheppard-LeMoine.
“They also have extensive experience leading the development of Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner students within the University of Windsor PHCNP program and are active as researchers.”
However, proposing a new and comprehensive certification course proved to be quite challenging.
“It was difficult to create a new and robust course in such a short amount of time while addressing issues related to effectively delivering this education across Ontario asynchronously,” says Pittman.
Pittman emphasizes that collaboration with faculty in the Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Consortium and members of the Council of Ontario Universities was vital in the organization and development of the learning modules. The UWindsor Continuing Education department also played a crucial role by quickly bringing the course offering to fruition.
“We’re honoured to be contributing as the operational unit for this vital program,” says Jennie Atkins, executive director of Continuing Education. “The Faculty of Nursing is a great partner and their wealth of expertise in the field is invaluable to the learning experience this program provides.”
Atkins adds that there has been a substantial level of interest in the program, which demonstrates the evident demand for certifications among Ontario’s Registered Nurses seeking proficiency and training to augment their skills in providing enhanced patient care. It also reflects the University’s agility in adapting to evolving health care and nursing requirements and requests.
“The Council of Ontario Universities is proud to support the University of Windsor in developing this innovative RN prescribing program,” says Steve Orsini, the council’s president and CEO. “Drawing on the expertise of university Nurse Practitioners from the nine-university consortium was instrumental in developing this safe and effective program that promotes the expansion of RN scope of practice and improves access to care for Ontarians.”
Current sections and waitlists for the certification program are full. Plans to add more sections are underway, with dates to be confirmed. Interested applicants can submit inquiries via Continuing Education's registration page and select “Request Information” on a section. Replies will be provided upon confirmation of additional sections.
For more information, visit the program page on the Continuing Education website or contact continue@uwindsor.ca.
—Gam Macasaet
