Health Promotion Poster Fair

Posted: December 7, 2018

At the end of October, third year nursing students from Epidemiology and Illness Prevention held their Health Promotion Poster Fair! The Poster Fair educates the college community on preventable public health issues. From learning about proper condom use to proper hand washing techniques, faculty and students are now one step closer to protecting themselves and others from communicable diseases, vaccine-preventable illnesses, preventable chronic diseases, sexually transmitted infections, and injuries.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to support our students’ learning as they support all of us through their health promotion efforts.

Post and photos by Meagen Chorney – Nursing Instructor (Adapted from post by Ana Stipanovic and Meagen Chorney)

Flu Clinic

Posted: November 23, 2018

Recently, the 2nd year Nursing Students in Community Practice: Health Promotion of the Older Adult NRSG 2811 manned the Flu Vaccine clinics at Red River College campuses. In addition to administering the vaccine, on Nov 1st the students held a health education event to highlight the benefits of getting the flu vaccine. They gave each person who was vaccinated a challenge card citing a benefit of getting the flu shot and encouraged them to give away the card to someone who was not yet vaccinated.

Over 320 students and staff received the Flu Vaccine at the Notre Dame Campus alone! Way to Go!!

Post and photos by Lois Tessier – Nursing Instructor

Radon Action Month

Posted: November 16, 2018

November is Radon Action Month

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, next to smoking, and is found in most residential homes. Exposure to residential radon is linked to 3,200 Canadian deaths every year. Talk to your patients about at-home testing and learn more with this free accredited course from @machealth: http://radon.machealth.ca

Quick Facts about Radon

• Radon is a radioactive gas and a known carcinogen. It results from the breakdown of uranium in the ground and can enter your home undetected. You can’t see it or taste it.
• All homes, in all parts of Canada, have some level of radon. The only way to know what the levels are like is to have your home tested.
• Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer next to smoking. Long–term exposure to elevated levels of radon in the home increases your risk of developing lung cancer.
• Smokers exposed to high levels of radon have a significantly increased risk of developing lung cancer.

Post written by Jennifer Morin – Nursing Instructor, who is disseminating this information as a Radon Champion on behalf of Health Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

The idea is to encourage health care providers to talk about Radon in their profession and ideally with their patients. This post provides a link to a free course for health care providers to access as a way to increase their knowledge related to Radon.

Family Nursing Simulation

Posted: November 8, 2018

On Monday October 29th, students in Family Nursing 2701 participated in a simulation along with nursing faculty. The simulation occurred in a community setting (i.e. the home of an older adult who had experienced a family member misusing her finances, who is considering moving to an assisted living complex as she has dementia). The family is present to help the client with the decision making process. Faculty members played the role of the family, and the students were members of the interprofessional team who came to visit the home and collaborate with the family to identify their most pressing concerns in order to provide them with appropriate support and services.

The objectives of this simulation activity were to provide students with the opportunity to practice the following family nursing skills:

1) participation in therapeutic conversation
2) application of relational family nursing skills
3) exploring the experience of the family
4) reflecting on the experience of the family and personal relational skills
5) discussing the benefits of an interprofessional team approach towards caring for the older adult and their family
6) to utilize teaching opportunities to enhance the functioning of an older adult and their family.

Students and staff participated in a pre-briefing prior to the simulation to learn their roles and de-briefed as a whole group about the experience.

Thank you to all nursing instructors who offered their time to make this activity a success and to our students who participated with such enthusiasm to make this a great experience!

Post and photo by Sandy Alguire RN MN – Course Leader Family Nursing 2710

Blood Pressure Clinic

Posted: November 1, 2018

Thank you everyone who came out to support our first year Baccalaureate Nursing students’ Blood Pressure Clinic!

Heart attacks and cardiac arrest affects everyone whether directly or indirectly. It is great to know your regular BP reading, so when something does happen, you’ll know your normal because normal is different for everyone.

Knowing the warning signs of a heart attack is a great beginning: Light headedness, nausea, vomiting; jaw, neck, or back pain; discomfort or pain to the shoulder or arm; chest discomfort or pain; short of breath.

Did you know cardiac arrest and heart attack are very different from one another?

Cardiac arrest is when the heart is in abnormal rhythm and can’t pump the blood, causing the heart to quiver, causing death within minutes if no life saving treatment is done.

Heart attack is when the blood flow in part of the heart muscle is blocked and, if not treated, can cause sudden cardiac arrest and death.

So please everyone, take care of your heart. You only have one!

Pa Pump Pa Pump Pa Pump!

See you next term!

Post written by

Jennifer Johnson – Nursing Lab Manager

ARNM Honours Our Own!

Posted: October 25, 2018

The Nursing faculty at Red River College (RRC) is proud to announce that Tracey Fallak, long time RRC Nursing faculty member, was honoured by the Association of Registered Nurses of Manitoba (ARNM) on Wednesday, October 24, 2018, for her excellence in teaching.

The Award of Excellence in Nursing Education is presented to registered nurses who practice as a nurse educator in a college/university or clinical setting and demonstrate teaching excellence by encouraging critical thinking and innovation. Tracey is the 2018 winner of this award.

Tracey’s drive to provide the most up to date peer-reviewed information in her role as an educator is inspiring. Tracey researches topics extensively and then presents them to students in an understandable manner using anecdotes from her practice and the literature to emphasize her intent. Tracey is the first to try innovative teaching strategies when she believes they will “reach” her students and lead to student success. Tracey is passionate about her life’s work, and this is recognized by her students who consistently identify Tracey’s passion as contributing to their learning and enjoyment in her classes. Tracey’s passion for nursing extends beyond her workplace, as she was integral in resurrecting a professional association for registered nurses in Manitoba.

The Nursing faculty of RRC has benefitted from Tracey’s example of use of a relational approach with her students, her sharing of herself, and her efforts to produce high quality, compassionate, and caring nurses. We all aspire to the standard Tracey provides. We are so very proud of Tracey and congratulate her on this most deserving recognition!

Of note, at the same awards evening, 2017 RRC Nursing graduate Paige Proctor was honoured with the ARNM’s Emerging Leader Award.

This award is presented to registered nurses in clinical practice who have entered the profession as an RN within the past five years, demonstrates excellence in his/her practice area, outstanding communication, and promising leadership qualities.

We are also very proud of Paige!

Congratulations to both of RRC’s honourees!!!

Post and photos by Bernie Mandrick – Nursing Instructor

Waste Reduction Week: October 15 – 21

Posted: October 18, 2018

It is waste reduction week in Canada! This week, spend some time thinking about what you can do in both your personal and professional lives to reduce waste and improve the environment you live in.

Below I have shared five ideas to get you starting to think about waste reduction in terms of the health care system:

1. Get involved with the Sustainability Officer or Green Team in your area. If there is not one already established, now is a great time to advocate for the formation of such a role. This role could include looking at ways to reduce waste and energy in the facility and encourage staff to get involved in greening the health system they are employed in. Save with lighting and water.

2. Recycle better. It is important to separate expensive infectious hospital waste from other, non-infectious hospital waste. Develop office protocols for hazardous waste. This requires a great deal of collaboration from many sectors within the health system.

3. Minimize the amount of waste. Consider the reuse of items that will not compromise patient safety. The hospital procurement officer could opt for green alternatives, such as non-mercury thermometers and recyclable plastics.

4. Reduce transportation pollution. Walk, cycle, or take the bus to work.

5. Encourage healthy and eco-responsible diets. Increase offering of fresh fruits and vegetables; encourage the reduction of red and processed meats. Encourage the use of tap water and reusable containers in place of bottled water. Take the Food Waste Pledge!

For more information, go to the Coalition for Green Healthcare – Green Office Toolkit.

Post written by Jennifer Morin – Nursing Instructor

Photo: Recycling Council of Ontario. (2018). Waste reduction week in Canada. Retrieved from https://wrwcanada.com/en

Gendered Nursing Stereotypes

Posted: October 11, 2018

Each term, third-year BN students from the Gender Studies for Health Professionals course give presentations on gendered nursing stereotypes. The purpose of the project is to have students explore gendered stereotypes about nursing and how they are perpetuated in the media and popular culture. Students are given full freedom in how they show a minimum of 5 examples, allowing them to explore the stereotypes in creative and complex ways. Each student presents on what their stereotype is, how the examples demonstrate the stereotype, how the stereotype reflects gender normativity, and why the stereotype is problematic to both nurses and patients.

On Thursday September 27th, the class shared their projects through informal presentations with any interested nursing faculty. Our guests moved around the room, talking to the students about their projects, as they learned more about the stereotypes that we’re all familiar with but maybe have never explored in depth. With Halloween just around the corner, we can see the stereotype of the ‘sexy nurse’ rearing her head yet again.

Thank you to everyone who came out to learn a little more about these gendered stereotypes, as our students explore how they themselves are what nurses look like, not the stereotypes perpetuated by the media and popular culture.

Post written by Meagen Chorney – Nursing Instructor – Gender Studies for Health Professionals

Red River College Nursing Department Awards Presentation 2018

Posted: October 4, 2018

Congratulations To This Year’s Award Winners

Jean Burrows Scholarship – Machaela Cavanagh : Jean Burrows was the Nursing Department Chair from 1974 to 1998, and upon her retirement, this scholarship was created for a first year student recognizing their outstanding academic achievement.

Bernice Parrott Award – Nicole Bouckley, Madeline Gylywoychuk-Winkler, Chelsea Jamieson-Wind, Jorrel Marasigan, Clinton Bayas, Danielle Lewicki, Jennifer Barron, Jessica Bonni : This award was established to provide financial assistance to deserving students entering their second or third year in the BN program, to recognize their hard work and efforts.

Nursing Students Endowment Scholarship – Cassie Oliver, Chris Hofer, Martina Persian, Natasha Kuchta : This award was established from students who, in 1997 as part of their tuition fees, contributed to this endowment fund. In 2001, a portion of the money was dedicated to the creation of this award. The class of 2002 also made a sizable contribution from their own fundraising efforts.

Nursing Legacy Award – Leah Cooper, Kayla Smith, Taylor Bahniuk, Tess Hamilton, Danielle Lewicki, Heidi Doerksen, Anna Nikitin, Jodie Shepit, Kristina Gillich : This award recognizes outstanding clinical performance of students in years one to three. A student in Nursing Techniques 3 is also recognized for excelling in both their academic and skill performance, while the Health Assessment award recognizes a student who has outstanding academic achievement in both Health Assessment courses. This award was established by combining sources from the Stanton Family, the Duncan Family, and Phyllis Aaron, along with the Nursing faculty.

Thorey Johnson Nursing Award – Tracy Clifton, Breanne Dobson, Rebecca McLachlan : In honor of their mother, Mrs. Johnson’s daughters have established this scholarship for a nursing student who has expressed a special interest in rural nursing practice.

Nursing Leadership Award – Jason Juell, Britta Hoogervorst (was unable to attend) :
This award is for deserving students who have gone above and beyond in support and leadership of their peers. This award was established by the awards committee, with nominations from faculty and peers.

Discipline of Professional Nursing Award – Emma Collins, Rachel Rubin, Ashley Desrochers : This award is presented to students for their outstanding achievement in the courses of Discipline of Professional Nursing 1-5.

Mary Langhan Nursing Award – Shelby Marks : This award is presented to a third year student who has demonstrated a high level of skill in the clinical setting and has expressed a special interest in obstetrics and gynecology.

Karla Ferens Memorial Entrance Award for Health Care Aide – Hailey West, Keyona Tomiuk, Phyllis Kelly (was unable to attend) : This award recipient has displayed the same accomplishments exhibited by Karla Ferens: involvement in sports and leadership qualities. Karla was a 2011 RRC graduate of the HCA program.

Community Service Award – Alisha Rana, Jodie Shepit : This award is presented to second and third year students who have volunteered for a community agency while maintaining sound academic achievement.

Karen Wall Indigenous Nursing Student Award – Karla Gladu : This award is presented to a third year student of Canadian Indigenous heritage who has achieved academic success in the BN program and has demonstrated leadership within the Indigenous community.

Elizabeth Scaife Memorial Award – Jana Te : This award is presented to a BPIEN (Bridging Program for Internationally Educated Nurses) student who demonstrated outstanding academic and clinical performance.

Nursing Student International Education Award – Alycia Dettman, Caitlyn Edwards : This award recognizes those who pursue educational opportunities internationally while completing their nursing program.

Written and Photos by Jennifer Johnson – Nursing Lab Manager

with descriptions of awards courtesy of the Nursing Awards Committee

Interprofessional Education Seminar

Posted: September 27, 2018

What a great capture!

This past Friday, September 21st 2018, Red River College conducted a large Interprofessional Education Seminar involving the following programs:
Nursing, Paramedicine, Ultrasound – Diagnostics Medical Sonography, Medical Radiology, and Medical Laboratory.

This picture only begins to represent how the students engaged in learning with, from, and about each other!