Who am I, professionally?

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I am a nurse leader with over 20 years of experience at the bedside and in leadership roles in acute care settings, primarily in Emergency and Critical Care. Currently, I hold a role as a quality and safety leader in a large, multi-site hospital in Southeastern Ontario. My core professional values are consistent with those of my employer: trust, compassion, courage, and innovation. My guiding principle is to place the patient first and to base decisions on what is best for patients and their families. My leadership style may be characterized as collaborative. As a lifelong learner, I seek professional growth by attending educational series offered by my organization, certification courses offered by the Ontario Hospital Association and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, and through my studies as a master of Health Studies candidate at Athabasca University.

As a Registered Nurse, my professional college is the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO). This professional organization is responsible for ensuring safe and ethical nursing practice by defining practice standards, investigating complaints, and disciplining members as required. (College of Nurses of Ontario, n.d.) Part of my accountability to the CNO is to participate in reflective practice exercises on an ongoing basis. The Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care delivers healthcare services under the Canada Health Act. As a provider of healthcare in Ontario, there are several legislative requirements for me as an individual as well as for the hospital where I work.

Part of my role as a quality and safety leader is to ensure that our publicly funded hospital meets legislative requirements for the quality of healthcare we deliver.  We do this by participating in mandatory quality improvement programs, by submitting data that indicates our performance, and through our internal governance structure. ("Excellent Care for All," 2016) Additionally, I am responsible for coordinating and monitoring our compliance with standards of care and required organizational practices as defined by Accreditation Canada, our accrediting body. (Accreditation Canada, n.d.)

As both a provider and consumer of care in my region, I am an engaged participant. Through this blog I hope to provide some helpful links and resources for like-minded healthcare professionals. It is my hope that any insights posted here would be a platform for discussion focused on improving and enhancing patient safety and the quality of healthcare delivery.

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References:

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Accreditation Canada. (n.d.). https://accreditation.ca/

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College of Nurses of Ontario. (n.d.). https://www.cno.org/

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Excellent care for all: Legislation, regulation, and policy. (2016). Retrieved February 6, 2018, from http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/ecfa/legislation/

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Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. (n.d.). http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/