Guest blog by Tess Samuel
The SickKids Nursing Awards take place during Nursing Week – a special time of the year when nurses are honoured for everything they do for patients, from the triage in Emergency, to the palliative care of patients whose illness is life-threatening. Associate Chief of Nursing Practice at The Hospital for Sick Children, Pam Hubley opened this year’s ceremony with a compelling description of the special quality of nursing – and nurses:
“What people see when they watch nurses are the obvious actions such as monitoring vital signs, administering medications… But often what people don’t see is the more invisible work of nursing, the way a nurse adapts to the needs of a particular child, the way a nurse reassures a parent that there is hope in a difficult situation, the way a nurse thinks about organizing caring activities in a way that will allow the patient dignity and respect, and the way nurses help families navigate an often overwhelming health care system... The way nurses lead change and make improvements to the quality of care and the quality of the work environment. Today is a great day to celebrate the diversity and multiple contributions that our nurses make at SickKids.”
The Nursing Awards exist only because there are SickKids Foundation donors who see and appreciate these outstanding qualities. Some families support an award in remembrance of a beloved family member who was herself a nurse; others create an award to say thank-you to the profession for the care given their loved one and the support and comfort the family received through their Hospital experience.
Mary Jo Haddad, SickKids President and CEO, and herself a former nurse, fully understands our donors’ motivations. With the Grace Evelyn Simpson Reeves family, the Ruth Duncan McCamus family, the Maria Gyorossy-Csepreghy Kluge family, the Ruth Scholz family, the family of patient Sasha Bella, and the Titley family she sees the quality embodied in SickKids nurses – so much so that in her remarks she declared them to be “one of Canada’s greatest treasures.”
This year the Awards ceremony had some novel features. Among them—
• A slide show of last year’s winners greeted arrivals. While we assembled we could see last year’s smiles, hugs, and professionals cheering each other on. What a great way to set the mood!
• Technology made it possible for the SickKids Chief of Nursing, Margaret Keatings, to address the group via a camera, since she was travelling and could not be there in person.
• Besides Ms. Keatings, the remarks of nominators were pre-recorded – providing a voice-over while we enjoyed pictures of the nominees in their regular work setting. Each nomination was accompanied by three to four shots – for example, we saw staff nurse Debbie talking to a little boy on his tricycle; advanced practice nurse Sue juggling phone, computer and paper-work all at once; nursing educator Celine in the process of teaching; nursing leader Darlene demonstrating a principle on a simulation mannequin – and many, many, more.
The pictures helped bring the remarks home – we appreciated each nurse’s accomplishments more when we could share their environment, their colleagues and of course the clear pride of those around them. And, on a fashion note, we could enjoy the bright colours and obvious comfort of the new NursingWear being worn at work by award winners.
Pam Hubley concluded the ceremony with a challenging thought:
“You have all helped us raise the bar another notch, to reflect on our own contributions and to set our sights high as to we continue to foster a professional practice environment that encourages nurses and nursing to be the best in the world.”
