Heart of health care

National Nursing Week presents an opportunity to celebrate the unique contributions of nurses - both as a profession and individually.

"Travelling across this country, I have met many inspirational nurses who are making a difference every day," says Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) president Marlene Smadu.

This year's event runs from May 7-13.

The CNA calls nurses a vital component of our health system and active in our communities. They are at the bedside and in our schools. Nurses lead research and international development initiatives and have a strong presence in Canada's military. They are also catalysts in finding solutions to improve access to health services.

For example, it was Lois Scott, a registered nurse, who co-developed and championed telehealth. Telehealth, from its roots in New Brunswick, has taken off so that Canadians no matter where they live can access expert health advice around the clock through nurse-staffed telephone services. Telehealth has helped drastically reduce the number of visits to emergency departments across the country.

True to its pioneering history, nursing continues to chart the course in optimizing the health of all Canadians. This means counselling and advocacy aimed at preventing illness to keep Canadians healthy and out of hospitals.

Jane Brownrigg is an example.

The public health nurse in Ottawa works with teens in battling tobacco addiction. An advocate for smoke-free public spaces., Brownrigg and her colleagues pressured the municipal council in Ottawa to put in place a smoke-free bylaw in 2001.

Nurses also work with governments at all levels as well as urban designers to reduce environmental hazards. They collaborate with police officers, firefighters and others involved in emergency planning to ensure that, at the time of an epidemic or a natural disaster, the expertise and infrastructure are there to deal with people who have physical and mental health problems.

According to Christine Halpert, registered nurse and communicable disease manager at Fraser Health in British Columbia, nurses have a unique set of skills that allow them to mobilize quickly in the face of any kind of an outbreak because they know their communities well. Halpert feels nurses are able to identify people who might be at risk of infection early and can prevent or stop the further spread of illness like meningococcal disease outbreaks or influenza.

Nurses are no strangers to the value of working in teams. With nutritionists, pharmacists, physicians, physiotherapists and others, nurses deliver health services in clinics, long-term care facilities, hospitals and people's homes. They have a long history of involvement in social issues like homelessness and healthy child development.

Toronto street nurse Cathy Crowe, for instance, has devoted her life to working on behalf of homeless Canadians, including advocating for a national housing program.

"We often hear how nurses are at the heart of health care," says the CNA's Smadu. "I think that has two meanings: it means that our compassion connects us with patients in a heart-to-heart way, and it recognizes that the health system could not function without our knowledge and actions.

 

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