I'm jumping ahead by a couple days -- Nurses week kicks off next week. However, the article below, from the Peterborough Examiner, caught my eye this morning as I was catching up on news.
Another successful career changer to nursing is profiled -- from a successful career as a law clerk to nursing. Now she's a nurse practitioner, and clinical director of a clinic that has an incredible mandate and focus.
Way to go!!! Hopefully I'll have those initials (NP) after my name too, one day...
Here's the link to the full story: http://www.thepeterboroughexaminer.com/2013/05/03/nurses-in-spotlight-next-week-for-nurses-week
Here's an excerpt from the article:
"Sometimes you have to take a leap of faith and trust that you’ll end up in the right place.
Cathryn Roka was 35 and making a fantastic living as a Bay St. law clerk. She liked what she did for a living and she was good at it.
But then she got sick. A virus attacking her liver had her in and out of hospitals for the better part of a year. As she watched and worked with the caregivers who got her helped her back to health, she had a revelation.
“I thought, wow, this is nice. Helping people instead of suing people,” Roka said.
So Roka leaped.
She took a leave of absence from work. She went back to school to pursue a career in health care.
Her family thought she was crazy, she said. It didn’t help that she didn’t know herself where she would end up.
Roka spent a few years working in public health before she decided to take another leap, heading back to school one more time to attend Queen’s University for nursing.
She’s landed in the right place. At 49, Roka has found her calling, working as a Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) nurse practitioner.
It’s a career that blends her desire to care for and advocate for people.
“Everyone should be entitled to health care,” Roka said.
That means health care when you need it, she said, be it today, tomorrow or even right now. And Roka wants it delivered without judgment. She’s also a tireless advocate for more nurse practitioner led-clinics, and wants to see more of them in the province. "
.....to continue reading click on the link above...
Happy early Nurses Week!!!
Showing posts with label nurse practitioner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nurse practitioner. Show all posts
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Timmy Global Health
For the Canadians reading my blog, "Timmy" does not refer to our national "cultural" icon and beloved coffee shops...only Canadians will get that reference! LOL!
Yesterday evening I took a study break for a few minutes. I plunked myself down in front of the TV, thinking I'd have a few minutes of mindless entertainment to give my tired old brain a break. After channel surfing a bit, I came across an award-type show listing nominees...it caught my interest, so I paused.
It turns out it was the American Giving Awards (I'd never heard of that before, but what a great concept and idea!!!). The nominees were just being listed for the health-care/wellness category when I arrived on that channel. All the nominees were very inspirational, to say the least, but the one I found myself rooting for was the Timmy Global Health Foundation. And guess what, they won that category!!!
I admit I didn't stick around watching the acceptance speeches or even really try to find out what that win means for that organization. My study break was over and I went back to my books and computer. But, I did look up Timmy Global Health Foundation, and research their work. Wow.
When I read about an organization like that, it simply re-inforces my passion and desire to be a medical professional. I dream of one day volunteering on medical missions, such as the ones run by the Timmy Foundation. I know I have so much to give and share with the world in my career, and that aspect was something that was severely lacking in my first career.
I cannot wait to be finished school and have my medical paperwork in hand, that will allow me to make these brief, yet life-changing, volunteer medical trips. Life-changing for everyone involved -- all the people I'll have the priviledge of helping, and me.
Check them out! What great work they do. I plan to remember them when I finally get my RN registration papers and am qualified to be part of a medical team, and most definitely when I have my NP papers safely in hand. I have so much to give back and share with others.
http://www.timmyglobalhealth.org/
Yesterday evening I took a study break for a few minutes. I plunked myself down in front of the TV, thinking I'd have a few minutes of mindless entertainment to give my tired old brain a break. After channel surfing a bit, I came across an award-type show listing nominees...it caught my interest, so I paused.
It turns out it was the American Giving Awards (I'd never heard of that before, but what a great concept and idea!!!). The nominees were just being listed for the health-care/wellness category when I arrived on that channel. All the nominees were very inspirational, to say the least, but the one I found myself rooting for was the Timmy Global Health Foundation. And guess what, they won that category!!!
I admit I didn't stick around watching the acceptance speeches or even really try to find out what that win means for that organization. My study break was over and I went back to my books and computer. But, I did look up Timmy Global Health Foundation, and research their work. Wow.
When I read about an organization like that, it simply re-inforces my passion and desire to be a medical professional. I dream of one day volunteering on medical missions, such as the ones run by the Timmy Foundation. I know I have so much to give and share with the world in my career, and that aspect was something that was severely lacking in my first career.
I cannot wait to be finished school and have my medical paperwork in hand, that will allow me to make these brief, yet life-changing, volunteer medical trips. Life-changing for everyone involved -- all the people I'll have the priviledge of helping, and me.
Check them out! What great work they do. I plan to remember them when I finally get my RN registration papers and am qualified to be part of a medical team, and most definitely when I have my NP papers safely in hand. I have so much to give back and share with others.
http://www.timmyglobalhealth.org/
Sunday, February 12, 2012
NP/MD collaboration- the way of the future in primary health care
The article below is not a great article the way it is written, but it is recent, current and does sum up the reality of the situation facing patients in smaller towns and cities (although patients in larger cities are not immune to this problem either), and what solution is evolving to fill that need.
In my opinion, the NP/MD collaboration is a great medical-service model, and I may even be part of the equation one day!
****************************************************************************
Nurse clinic seeks help to fill doctor shortage
As more family doctors in the city retire, the clinic's waiting list of patients grows longer
Posted: Feb 1, 2012 8:33 AM ET
Lakehead Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic
(Note:CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external links.)
Thunder Bay's nurse practitioner clinic is feeling the strain of the family doctor shortage. The clinic is full and can no longer accept new patients. It's turning to the province for help.
Clinic worker Debbie Karpowich said more people are looking for care because their family doctors are retiring.
"I do... feel sorry for them and ... it's difficult telling them that they have to use walk-in clinics,” she said.
“I mean they've had doctors all their life and now there's no one and they don't know how to handle this and what are they going to do?"
The clinic has enough space to hire two more nurse practitioners, which could serve an additional 1,600 patients. Plans are in the works to put in a request for funding from the Ministry of Health.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro said he hasn’t been approached by the nurse practitioner clinic to help expand its service. But he said he's committed to nurse practitioners as a solution for orphaned patients, and will do what he can to help.
For now, people like Lawrence and Lillian Buttman are concerned about how they are going to get prescriptions when their family doctor retires.
“Once a month she gets a needle, so [she] needs that needle bad,” Lawrence said.
The couple has been added to the waiting list at the Lakehead Nurse Practitioner Clinic. People have flocked to the Archibald Street clinic in Thunder Bay’s south end, since it opened more than a year ago. Each of the four nurse practitioners who work there now has a full load of 800 patients.
Clinic head Pam Delgaty said more than 175 people are on a waiting list, and the number keeps growing.
"A lot of people are terrified at the thought … [of losing] their family physician."
Clinic worker Debbie Karpowich said more people are looking for care because their family doctors are retiring.
"I do... feel sorry for them and ... it's difficult telling them that they have to use walk-in clinics,” she said.
“I mean they've had doctors all their life and now there's no one and they don't know how to handle this and what are they going to do?"
The clinic has enough space to hire two more nurse practitioners, which could serve an additional 1,600 patients. Plans are in the works to put in a request for funding from the Ministry of Health.
Thunder Bay-Atikokan MPP Bill Mauro said he hasn’t been approached by the nurse practitioner clinic to help expand its service. But he said he's committed to nurse practitioners as a solution for orphaned patients, and will do what he can to help.
For now, people like Lawrence and Lillian Buttman are concerned about how they are going to get prescriptions when their family doctor retires.
“Once a month she gets a needle, so [she] needs that needle bad,” Lawrence said.
The couple has been added to the waiting list at the Lakehead Nurse Practitioner Clinic. People have flocked to the Archibald Street clinic in Thunder Bay’s south end, since it opened more than a year ago. Each of the four nurse practitioners who work there now has a full load of 800 patients.
Clinic head Pam Delgaty said more than 175 people are on a waiting list, and the number keeps growing.
"A lot of people are terrified at the thought … [of losing] their family physician."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/story/2012/02/01/tby-nurse-practitioner-clinic.html
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