Me and My Thoughts...

Health education and active living are important virtues that I am constantly striving to achieve and balance with my personal and professional life.  Health education is educating others about health, and empowering them to restore, maintain, or promote their health status and quality of life.  Active living is incorporating physical activity into daily routine.  As a health care provider, it is my role and responsibility to ensure I encompass both health education and active living, as maintaining health is on ongoing process.   

About Me

To sum it up…I am a proud mother of 2 boys – 10 and 14 years old.  I am also a wife, daughter (and daughter-in-law), sister (and sister-in-law), aunty, cousin and friend. Each of these roles have defined and shaped who I am. 

Work Experience

I have always wanted to be a nurse for as long as I can remember, and felt nursing was a profession that was meant for me. 

I have been employed with Fraser Health Authority for over 15 years, and have worked the areas of medical/surgical, palliative, labor and delivery, operating room, and community care. 

I have been in the community for the past 8 years, and have transitioned through the roles of Nursing Supervisor to Clinical Resource Nurse (educator) to Team Leader.  As a Team Leader, I provide leadership and clinical/administrative support to an interdisciplinary team, and am also involved with practice standards and quality improvement.  In my role, I lead a team of Licensed Practical Nurses and Registered Nurses that oversee 250 community health workers (equivalent of residential care aides) in the community.

I love being a nurse, and am doing exactly what I have always known that I am supposed to be doing.   

Career Expectations

I have been asked by co-workers why am I entering a Masters of Education program when I am already in a leadership role?  To be completely honest, completing this post-graduate degree is purely for personal growth.  The experience gained through my leadership role, along with a graduate degree, will only open more opportunistic doors if needed in the future.  At this time, I am enjoying the development and growth in my leadership role, and not sure whether I would take on the challenges of a managerial role.  Perhaps with the newly gained knowledge, I may feel different in the future, and will have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

HEAL MEd Expectations

I selected SFU’s cohort program based on its structure and curriculum.  Health education and active living have always been very important to me. 

With a Master of Education in Health Education and Active Living, I will gain scholarly knowledge, and be able to utilize it to address many of our issues at our worksite.  I want to learn how to implement health promotion, and utilize active living techniques to support our staff.

On an informal note…I am very excited about this program, and looking forward to the connections that have already begun.