This text is part of the special Nursing Profession notebook
With their unwavering team spirit, the finalists for the Florence 2023 Prize in the Collaborative Practice category stand out in coordinating care and sharing expertise. They also advocate an approach advocating the active participation of the patient in the care process and in decisions.
Nathalie Tremblay: quality, safety, mutual aid
After moving away from her native North Shore to pursue her studies in nursing, Nathalie Tremblay returned to her region, determined to actively participate in improving the quality and safety of care, for the greater benefit of patients and his colleagues from the north-coastal territory.
Over the course of her mandates, she worked to develop nursing practice while always being committed to improving the quality and safety of services. “I have always done this in partnership with users. When I built a tool, I did it with user feedback. This is what allowed me to meet a customer need while equipping field nurses to improve the quality and safety of the service we provided. It has always been my leitmotif as a nurse. »
Moreover, some of the tools she developed were recognized at the OIIQ Clinical Innovation Awards. Some, still used today, have toured the province. Nathalie Tremblay defends the expertise of patients and their loved ones at each stage of the care process. She also set up the Partnership and User Experience Office and promoted the inclusion of patient partners in various decision-making committees of the CISSS in the hope of optimizing the care offered while improving the efficiency of the teams. .
However, it was a surprise when nurse Nathalie Tremblay received a call from Luc Mathieu, president of the OIIQ, to tell her that she was a finalist for the Florence Awards in the Collaborative Practice category: “I thought it was a call in connection with certain risk management files that we had submitted to the Order. Then he tells me that I am nominated. I didn’t know that my application had been submitted, it’s very touching. A Florence Prize is exceptional recognition. We say to ourselves that it is the great nurses who deserve an award like this. However, I didn’t think I was doing anything exceptional. I’m just doing my job,” she says with great humility.
There is no doubt for Nathalie Tremblay: the role of the nurse has changed a lot since she obtained her diploma: “The profession has evolved at great speed. We are increasingly developing our full potential, even if we are still behind, here in Quebec, when comparing ourselves to our colleagues in Western Canada or Europe. There is catching up to be done in practice, despite great progress. We become partners in the team, even though we were performers at the start of my practice. We ask more for nurses’ opinions, we see the desire of nurses who enter the profession to improve care and provide quality services. We are more and more focused on research, on evidence, we question ourselves more, we offer an interesting argument to be able to position ourselves or help a user to position themselves in their treatment, in their illness. No doubt, we have made a giant leap. »
The one who confides, with a laugh, having left school at 45, insists on the importance of developing one’s curiosity: “That’s how we can bring new innovations to nursing practice that will allow us to go even further.” in the quality and safety of user care. »
Caroline Mathieu: the benefits of listening
When she was little, Caroline Mathieu dreamed of repairing humans. After a stint in biotechnology at university, she left the slides of her microscope to get closer to people by obtaining her bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1999.
“Already, at that time, it was not illness that interested me, but rather how human people went through health experiences that came their way. » Community health, oncology, palliative care, university teaching, his practice has always been motivated by an interest in better understanding humans, their resilience, their way of experiencing illness: “No matter the pathology, it is always the same thing for me. We have to start from them, from what they express, then ask ourselves how we are capable of supporting them. Despite the fact that we have knowledge, they are the health experts. They are the experts of their journey. We’re just smugglers, we help them cross [un épisode de soin]. »
Since taking up her position, the woman who left Montreal to join the CISSS des Îles-de-la-Madeleine has notably developed and implemented a citizen psychiatry movement, with the support of stakeholders, managers and the community, so that they can pool their strengths to offer more services. The project aims not only to promote the recovery of people living with a mental health disorder, but also to eliminate the stigmatization to which they are often victims.
On her adopted archipelago, nurse Caroline Mathieu is hard at work creating a community of compassion: “With twelve thousand inhabitants, it is not true that we cannot be a lookout for each other. others. So, how can we put our population into action, how can we have an impact? Health care supports what we are capable of doing as a community. »
The biotechnology student fascinated by science that she once was is never far away: “Care is both the art of science. It takes very specialized knowledge, but it is us, as humans, in our way of turning towards others and understanding them, that can make the difference. Patients have been my greatest teachers. They are the ones who force us to readjust, to take a step back, to question ourselves. A thank you from them, this is the best prize we can receive. »
Véronique Fraser: when ethics meets science
Like her colleagues, the announcement of her nomination for the Florence Awards greatly moved Véronique Fraser. After the phone call from the president of the OIIQ who informed her that she was a finalist in the Collaborative Practice category, she immediately sent a text message to her mother to share her joy.
“I know the process is long and complex. I was very touched to know that colleagues I greatly respect and admire took the time to do this work for me. » For her, this recognition that is the Florence awards is the celebration of a profession in perpetual evolution.
After a 1er cycle in philosophy obtained in 2003, Véronique Fraser decided to move away from academia to get closer to people. She then took the path of nursing. She then completed a master’s degree in bioethics, then a fellowship in applied ethics. In 2020, Véronique Fraser was entrusted with the development of the medical assistance in dying (MAID) program at the McGill University Health Center. “Today, as an advanced practice nurse specializing in medical assistance in dying, I combine science and ethics by supporting patients and their families,” she notes.
Whether in her role as an advanced practice nurse, teacher, speaker, researcher or internship supervisor, she demonstrates a great openness to others, which promotes the uniqueness of each participant and of each patient, in addition to contributing to the sharing of expertise.
The nurse has learned a lot from her peers and emphasizes the importance of mentoring in the nursing profession. Clinical judgement, critical thinking, working collaboratively and compassionately under enormous pressure, these are all skills she developed working alongside more experienced nurses. “These are not things you learn from a book. I feel privileged to be well surrounded and to be able to continue to advance in my profession. »
Even though we talk a lot about the issues affecting the health network, Véronique Fraser recognizes that there are advancements that look promising for a profession seeking greater autonomy. “A lot of things have changed in the last twenty years. When I started, there weren’t many nurse practitioners. They are more and more numerous and their field of practice is diversifying. I also notice that more and more nurses are occupying management positions while others are devoting themselves more to research. It may not be emphasized enough, but nursing research distinguishes itself from medical research by asking different, but equally important, questions. »
On the path to advancement, Véronique Fraser imagines the nurse of tomorrow to be empowered, respected and well supported by the system. “I see her as a leader within a multidisciplinary team that works collaboratively. In an ideal world, the nurse would be used to their full potential, and mandatory overtime would be a thing of the past. » Above all, she wants young people to know that it is an exceptional and rewarding profession when the right conditions are met to support it.
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