Jessie Gibson, a registered nurse in Sunnybrook’s Tory Trauma Program, knows it isn’t always easy for new nurses or health-care workers to navigate working through the holidays, so she’s sharing some tips on how to keep those traditions, make the season special and find time for what matters without burning yourself out.

Prioritize your most important holiday events

Jessie says everyone’s schedule is going to be different, whether they’re working days or nights, but she says one thing she’s found helpful is to determine ahead of time what traditions, events or days are most important and trying to ensure those happen, even if nothing else does.

“My grandparents, for example, are really big on hosting Christmas Eve, so in that case I might prioritize attending Christmas Eve at my grandparents’, even if it means working on Christmas Day,” she says.

And maybe it’s waking up a little earlier before a shift to participate in a special tradition with family before work, or celebrating on a different day when everyone is available (this can work well if your family members have more flexible schedules).

“I’d say it’s important to pinpoint what’s most important for your family and trying to make those instead of trying to attend every event because that’s just not realistic when you’re working 12-hour shifts,” Jessie says.

Managing disappointment from loved ones

It can definitely be disappointing for family members, and you, if you’re working the holidays for the first time. Jessie says one of the things she’s learned is the importance of open communication with your loved ones.

“If they’re not aware of the health-care system, really explaining that it’s 24/7, 365 days a year. The hospital doesn’t close on Christmas, and there will be people there who still need to be cared for,” she says.

Making time for the most important traditions can help ease some disappointment for everyone. Jessie gives the example of her family’s tradition of baking before the holidays.

“My family does Christmas baking every year, so I’m going to see them this weekend actually, and we’re going to do our baking together,” she says.

It can be difficult to explain to children, but Jessie says explaining that just as they want someone to take care of them when they’re sick, there will be people in the hospital who are sick or hurt and will need someone to take care of them.

And since holiday schedules are often set weeks in advance, that provides an opportunity to discuss with your loved ones what days you’ll be working and begin to set expectations, for them and for you, early.

Remember who make the holidays special 

It can feel as though everyone around you is celebrating their holidays, and you might feel as though you’re missing out because you’re working. But Jessie says there are ways to make the holidays special regardless, which can also help manage those feelings of disappointment.

“I think, first, it’s remembering that it’s not necessarily the day that makes it special, it’s the people,” she says.

It might mean celebrating a bit early or late, depending on your schedule, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep all the same traditions and eat all the same food and celebrate the way you would on the “right” days. And that’s what matters most.

“With the holidays, it’s more about who you’re with than the actual day it’s on, so I think if you’re going to dinner, do it how you always would and if it’s on a different day, that’s fine — you’re still celebrating with your loved ones,” Jessie says.

Cluster your care

When you’re working 12-hour shifts, the long holiday to-do list might feel daunting. How do you buy presents, do your grocery shopping, make all the goodies (along with everything else) without burning out?

“I think, one, online shopping,” Jessie says with a laugh.

As for running errands, she says she uses an approach she’s learned as a nurse called “clustering your care.”

“The idea is, if you have two or three days off, maybe you can run all your errands on one day: pick up your gifts, do your groceries, things like that. And then that leaves you a day for yourself to decompress and rest,” she says.

This won’t be true for everyone, but Jessie says cooking and baking are self-care activities for her, so that helps with the holiday baking or cooking tasks. If they’re not relaxing for you, maybe you don’t need to bake as many treats, or can simplify holidays meals so it’s not overwhelming.

Avoiding burnout is critical, though, so while it’s important to be organized, have a plan and get those tasks done, Jessie emphasizes taking at least a day of your time off to rest and recuperate and take some time for yourself, especially during the busy holiday season.

Don’t forget to care for you

You don’t have to pretend that you’re happy working over the holidays if it’s disappointing for you.

“I think it’s okay to be upset that you’re working over the holidays,” Jessie says. “It’s okay to feel that way, to maybe feel a bit left out of the festivities.”

For health-care workers working their first holiday season, it can be a big adjustment, especially since you get holidays off while in school. If you’re finding it particularly tough, Jessie recommends reaching out to family, to your support system, or a professional to help you manage — because it’s important to take care of yourself.

“Yes, you spend your days taking care of other people and you’re trying to coordinate your holiday schedule to work for everyone, but make sure you’re taking care of yourself, too. It’s really important,” says Jessie.

The post Working the holidays for the first time? An experienced RN has some tips appeared first on Your Health Matters.

When Chandra Kafle and her family moved to Ontario from Nepal, she had a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She wanted to continue her nursing career in Toronto, so she set out to fulfill the additional educational requirements necessary to practice in Ontario. That journey brought her to Sunnybrook, where the support and encouragement she received helped empower her along the way. Chandra found her way to Sunnybrook while she was completing a program called “Academic Pathway for Nurses.” Following the completion of the 12 theory courses, she received a clinical placement in Sunnybrook’s K-Wing.

“I was really impressed with the opportunities for staff and for students,” says Chandra. “I knew I wanted to work for Sunnybrook.”

Chandra passed her Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) exam in May 2014. In order to meet the requirements to become a Registered Nurse (RN) in Ontario, Chandra enrolled in a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) degree program while working part time at Sunnybrook’s Holland Centre.

She was a full-time student, a part-time RPN at the Holland Centre and also mom to a young child. Chandra says that time had its challenging moments.

“Because I did the program while I was working, one (challenge) was time management and then sometimes having the feeling that you are not there with your child all the time,” she says. “Finding the right balance between family life and my professional life was a little bit challenging.”

But Chandra was able to meet those challenges, complete her BScN and its requirements, and begin her career in Ontario as an RN on one of Sunnybrook’s cardiology units. Sponsored by the hospital, she was also able to complete a specialized critical care training program.

Today, Chandra is about to finish her Masters in Nursing, with a focus on leadership and health policy, and she is working as an interim Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), a leadership role she’s enjoying.

“I love it. I love teaching, learning new things, so I love this role,” she says. “I had limited knowledge regarding the role and responsibilities of an APN when I started in the position, but I had so much support from my colleagues; they helped me feel ready to take on the role.”

Watch: What it’s like to work in nursing at Sunnybrook

She says she didn’t know at the outset that it would be such a lengthy process to become an RN and complete her masters in nursing in Ontario, but even during the challenging times, her commitment to her education and the support she received kept her pressing forward.

“What kept me going was motivation from my family and my hunger for education and continuous growth,” says Chandra. “And I am so lucky that I am here at Sunnybrook. I got so much support from my peers, from managers and from the organization. That support has helped me grow personally and professionally and led me to where I am today.”

Are you an internationally educated nurse looking for more information?

The Sunnybrook Internationally Educated Nurse (IEN) Career Pathway helps IENs optimize the use of their specialized skills and expertise in the Canadian workforce by supporting quality patient care. For IENs who are eligible to work in Ontario, the pathway helps IENs transition successfully along a continuum of hospital roles into nursing roles.

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Kuldeep is an Extern Mentor Coordinator (EMC) at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, and coordinates the onboarding for incoming clinical externs who join our interprofessional care teams while enrolled in nursing school. She also mentors new nurses in the New Graduate Guarantee (NGG) program, a Ministry of Health program that matches nurses with employers and provides nurses with a mentor and increased support in their new nursing role. After one year, participants are guaranteed a position with the employer.

Kuldeep, a registered nurse, says when she was offered the opportunity to become a mentor, she was happy to accept.

“What I love about it is that you bring someone into a personal space and you’re going to advocate and help nurture, coach, shape and guide them to have the best nursing start to their career,” Kuldeep says.

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In her role as a mentor for NGG nurses, Kuldeep and other mentors provide support to registered nurses and registered practical nurses by helping them transition to their role while they gain clinical skills and autonomy.

Since clinical externs are still nursing students, the mentoring process is slightly different. Mentors spend time ensuring externs understand their specific role on the interprofessional health-care team, and supporting them in their learning process.

“What I love about my role as a clinical extern mentor is that I can become a part of their learning journey. Sharing my clinical experiences and all the little tricks I’ve learned that have helped me to adapt to change,” Kuldeep says, adding that’s been especially important during the pandemic. “It makes me smile when I know they feel supported.”

Starting a new career in nursing can be overwhelming, but when experienced nurses provide mentoring, it gives clinical externs and new nurses a safe place to learn. Kuldeep says cultivating a strong relationship between the mentor and extern or new nurse is important for success.

NGG nurses connect with their mentors on a weekly basis, and new nurses can easily reach their mentors with any questions. EMCs will touch base with clinical externs at least a few times per week via text, phone call or visits to the unit.

“This builds a relationship and a trust and shows them we’re here to support you and transition you into your new role,” Kuldeep says.

Kuldeep says Sunnybrook’s mentors are experienced nurses who want to support new nurses and nursing students and help them develop the knowledge, skills and judgement necessary to provide high-quality patient care and be successful in their careers.

“We all want them to succeed,” she says. “Not only does the hospital need nurses, but we need good nurses and one way we can do that is by being there as a mentor.”

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“It [is] a really great learning environment and people are super eager to teach you,” Ashlynn said. “Also, there’s … lots of unique things that you only see at Sunnybrook.”

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic ended her consolidation hours — a for-credit placement required for her nursing degree program — but since she was still interested in working for Sunnybrook, she was referred to the clinical extern program. Clinical externs are nursing students who gain on-the-job training while increasing their understanding of interprofessional roles within health-care teams. Not only is it an opportunity for students to gain confidence as nurses, but the externship program also enhances the overall quality of care for patients and families.

Ashlynn was interested in learning more about cardiology and, as an extern, she was assigned to that unit where she says she was warmly welcomed, received excellent teaching and was able to assist in providing high-quality care to patients and their families.

“I learned a ton,” she says.

Following her externship, Ashlynn registered for the Nursing Graduate Guarantee (NGG) initiative, a program offered through the Ministry of Health that matches nurses with employers and provides nurses with a mentor and increased support in their new nursing role. After one year, participants are guaranteed a position with the employer.

After completing the NGG, Ashlynn was hired into the Acute Care Nursing Resource Team (ACNRT). While working as a member of that team, Sunnybrook sponsored Ashlynn in the completion of her Emergency Department certification. Now that she has completed the Emergency Department certification, Ashlynn has started her newest role as a registered nurse in Sunnybrook’s Emergency Department. She says the mentorship she received as an extern and in the NGG program has helped her feel prepared to succeed in her newest role.

“I had a good foundation. My transition into independent practice was I think as smooth as it could have been because of the support I got,” Ashlynn says.

Ashlynn credits Sunnybrook for investing in its nurses. Becoming a nurse during a global pandemic isn’t easy, and moving into more independent practice where she will have greater responsibility can be a little scary, but she says she has never once felt as though she has to manage these feelings on her own.

“Being independent in my practice doesn’t mean being alone in my practice when I’m at Sunnybrook,” she says.

The support and mentorship is valuable, but Ashlynn says it doesn’t mean it’s made the work easy. And for nursing students who are considering employment in a hospital setting, she advises not getting stuck on how difficult or scary it might be.

“It’s challenging, but if you’re in the right environment that supports you, the growth that you get as a nurse and a person is worth the difficulty,” she says. “When you’re in a new environment that builds you up like that, you become a better nurse and what scares you now just won’t scare you later.”

The post Supported each step of the way: Ashlynn’s journey from student to full-time nurse at Sunnybrook appeared first on Your Health Matters.

Registered Nurse and nursing preceptor Deborah Capra has some tips to help you get the most out of a practical placement. While her advice focuses on nursing, these reminders are great for all students on placement for health-care disciplines.

1. Don’t forget the basics: Start in general medicine. A lot of students now see the TV shows and want to go straight for the ER or surgical floors. But, it’s good to get a good basic knowledge of bedside nursing first. These are the fundamentals.

2. Outline your learning goals: “It’s important for you to speak up and inform your preceptor of what your learning goals are: if there’s something you want to see or try, let us know,” Deborah says. “We want to make your experience a positive one. If it’s a new treatment or a procedure that isn’t done often, we can keep an eye out and connect you to these opportunities.”

3. Speak up: Be clear about your objectives. If things aren’t going as you expected, or you aren’t getting what you need out of your placement, speak to your preceptor, or the educator on the unit.

4. Who, what, when, where, why: Ask questions. Lots of them. “Don’t feel dumb or intimidated,” Deborah says. “This is how you will learn. Plus, you are helping us! Sometimes we get into our routine and we forget why we do this.” It benefits the staff when students ask questions and are forced to stop to think. “It reminds us why we have a certain policy or procedure,” Deborah adds.

The post 4 Tips for a Practical Nursing Placement appeared first on Your Health Matters.

Coming soon! Advice from Sunnybrook’s top docs, nurses, physios and other allied health professionals.

Looking back on their school days, what insights do they have now that they wish they could have known then? As they say, hindsight is 20-20.

Check back here soon for our first post!

The post Advice from the health-care pros: What I wish I knew back then… appeared first on Your Health Matters.

Hello students, residents, interns, fellows! Welcome to Sunnybrook (including the Holland Centre and St. John’s Rehab) and welcome to the online community for students who find themselves here. We hope this blog will connect you with other students, offer you some tips for navigating the labyrinth that is Sunnybrook, link you with useful resources and give you a few laughs along the way.

This site is a work-in-progress, so bear with us while we launch our new look soon! In the meantime, some useful Sunnybrook links for you!

Facebook
YouTube
Twitter

A friendly reminder, be careful with your online self: don’t disclose personal health info online, and use good judgement! Any questions about our social media policy, get in touch!

Let us know if there’s anything you need, information you’d like to see on here or if you’d like to be a blogger for us to give your perspective on resident, fellow, intern or student life at Sunnybrook!

-Admin.

The post Welcome to Sunnybrook! appeared first on Your Health Matters.

If you have found your way to this blog, you are probably already aware of the renewed commitment to education that is underway at Sunnybrook.

As an academic health sciences centre, Sunnybrook has a mandate that goes beyond providing the highest standard of clinical care to our patients. We are committed to creating, translating, and integrating new knowledge into patient care, education, and research. We take seriously the idea that everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner. In fact, it is likely that it was this active learning environment that drew you to Sunnybrook in the first place.

However, in the midst of all of our activities related to patient care, the business of health care, research, and teaching, it is easy to overlook the idea that that practice of education itself is a focus for research and innovation. Part of our renewed mandate as an academic health sciences centre includes a sharper focus on development, implementation, and dissemination of best practices in clinical education.

There are many excellent and innovative education activities going on at Sunnybrook. Some of these have emerged out of necessity, some reflect the natural talents and instincts of our staff and physicians, and some are the result of focused and deliberate scholarly activity. It is important that we profile these activities, not only within Sunnybrook, but in the larger community. Equally important is the need to explore in a systematic way, how and under what circumstances these approaches are effective.

In our day-to-day work, each of us encounters multiple opportunities to be both a teacher and a learner – working with a student, assisting a new staff member to “learn the ropes”, encountering a job situation that is unfamiliar or unique. As committed lifelong learners, we typically approach these situations using our individual tried-and-true approaches. However these situations can also present opportunities to push ourselves to try something a little different.

Perhaps you’ve noticed patterns in the way different patients respond when you explain routines and procedures. You may have found that you and your colleagues have different ideas about the best way to introduce a new procedure, teach new staff, or master a technical task.

Pay attention to your reflections and hunches. Share them with your colleagues. These are the seeds of education scholarship.

Imagine the possibilities…

Marg Blastorah, RN, PhD

Director, Nursing Knowledge, Research and Innovation

The post Planting the Seeds of Education Innovation appeared first on Your Health Matters.