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20 Sheila A. McKay PRESENT OCCUPATION/POSITION Instructor, Red Deer College Faculty of Nursing MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS CNA 100 IN 100 AWARD RECIPIENTS Alberta RN is proud to feature Alberta recipients of the Canadian Nurses’ Association (CNA) Centennial Awards. All recipients were also featured in a video shown during the Awards of Nursing Excellence Gala in May. Sheila A. McKay has made significant contributions to nursing by influencing decisions affecting the future of nursing and by promoting the value of registered nurses in the health-care system. Her career spans clinical practice, education and administration and she has worked in medicine, emergency, intensive care and public health nursing. McKay teaches at the Red Deer College faculty of nursing and has served as chair of nursing programs. Her professional leadership includes being a charter member of the Northwest Territories Registered Nurses Association and serving as president of the Yukon Nurses Society. She is also past-president of the College and Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta. Alberta RN July 2008 Volume 64 No 6 www.nurses.ab.ca Barbara Rocchio PRESENT OCCUPATION/POSITION Health Care Consultant, IBH Innovative Health Care Consulting Inc. MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS Barbara Rocchio’s contributions include creation of a provincial concerns resolutions framework and forming an advisory committee of chronically ill children to influence the design of the Stollery Children’s Hospital. She developed many programs to address specific community and population health needs, worked on projects to improve practice readiness for new health professionals and spearheaded quality improvement processes to positively impact patient care and work environments. For more than 45 years, her innovative administrative leadership has improved the delivery of health-care services and created exceptional programs, including a child abuse prevention and support program, which has since been duplicated nationally. Rocchio was a CARNA Lifetime Award recipient in 2005.
RN Embraced Culture in her Role on First Nations Community The career of a community health nurse in a First Nations community is often short-lived. Most opt to practice elsewhere after only one to three years. Cultural differences, distance from major city centres and other factors often lead nurses to relocate. RN Pat Hogan is the exception. “She’s worked as a nurse in the Alexis First Nation for almost 15 years,” says Paula Bailey a community health nurse with the Paul Band. “She has been part of their lives, watching their children grow up and helping them along the way.” Nurses in First Nations communities face unique challenges. Working within a distinctive cultural context, they practise in non-traditional settings, engage in community development and participate in a wide range of health programs. According to Health Canada Zone Nurse Manager Joyce Cardinal, the higher youth population rate calls for a focus on health prevention and promotion. Hogan understands these challenges well. “Working in First Nations is different than working anywhere else. Residents want access to western medicine, but they also want to use their traditional medicine and ideas,” says Hogan. She is not of aboriginal descent, but was willing to learn and embrace the culture. Hogan regularly participates in non-nursing related community events such as round dances, award ceremonies and retreats. According to colleague RN Jody Bonner, Hogan is valued and respected in the community as one of their own. “She learned to march to the drum beat of the community without judgement,” says Cardinal. “She got to know the community and respected what they do and how they do it.” In June, Pat Hogan retired after 37 years of nursing. During her career, she practised in diverse settings, including Saudi Arabia, remote communities in Canada’s Northwest Territories, Edmonton and most recently at the Alexis First Nation, 85 km west of Edmonton. Hogan appreciates her experiences. She enjoyed working in a smaller community with a variety of people. It provided her with freedom and flexibility she feels could not be matched elsewhere. Each day presented new experiences she was eager to tackle. “Nothing that happens around here is textbook,” says Hogan. “Technical knowledge is an asset, but you have to leave it at the edge and pack your flexibility.” Over the years, Hogan has watched community initiatives lead to increased health. Smoking cessation and immunization rates have steadily improved during her time in Alexis First Nation. She credits the determination of the community and health promotion programs implemented, in part, by the residents. Hogan is unsure of how she will spend her retirement. Over the next few months, she will gear down and possibly travel. Life without the daily challenges and rewards of nursing will take some getting used to for Hogan. “I’ve never regretted a moment I’ve spent nursing.” RN First Nations Health Statistics • When compared to the overall Canadian population, First Nations have a two times higher rate of pertussis, a seven times higher rate of rubella and a six times higher rate of tuberculosis. • In 2000, the First Nations birth rate was 23.4 births per 1,000 population, more than twice the Canadian rate. • Suicide and self-injury are the leading causes of death for youth and adults up to the age of 44, accounting for 22 per cent of deaths among First Nations youth. Suicide and self-injury account for 20.4 per cent of deaths in the overall Canadian youth population. • According to the 2001 Census of Canada, on-reserve registered First Nations individuals rate lower than the general population on all educational attainment indicators. • Hospitalization rates are higher among First Nations for all causes except circulatory diseases and cancers. • In First Nations, potential years of life lost from injury is more than all other causes of death combined and is almost 3.5 times that of the Canadian rate. SOURCE: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fniah-spnia/ pubs/aborig-autoch/stats_profil-eng.php (accessed June 24, 2008) www.nurses.ab.ca July 2008 Volume 64 No 6 Alberta RN 21
Page 1 and 2: JULY 2008 VOLUME 64 NO 6 4 12 19 21
Page 3 and 4: President’s Update The following
Page 5 and 6: SUMMER...is registration renewal ti
Page 7 and 8: 2. Review your member profile to en
Page 9 and 10: NATIONAL NURSING WEEK - MAY 12-18,
Page 11 and 12: 2 3 4 5 6 7 Who will you nominate i
Page 13 and 14: Images Studios (Craig), Tina Chang
Page 15 and 16: Tina Chang NURSING EXCELLENCE IN ED
Page 17 and 18: From l to r: ARNET Board Chair Joan
Page 19: ISMP MEDICATION SAFETY ALERT! ® It
Page 23 and 24: instant ice packs, elasticized clin
Page 25 and 26: D iscipline Decisions Discipline su
Page 27 and 28: CARNA has major reservations about
Page 29 and 30: BOOKMARKS A Handbook on Spiritualit
Page 31 and 32: A Joint Conference of: Sept. 19, 20
Page 33 and 34: Reunions Foothills Hospital School
Page 35: a century of leadership During 2008

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