Honour a nurse with a SMILE this Nursing Week
In honour of National Nursing Week, a campaign to recognize the dedication and achievements of the nursing profession, we wanted to introduce you to two of the amazing nurses making an impact on child health care at SickKids. These two nurses have also been honoured through the SMILE program, which provides families and fellow staff members with the opportunity to acknowledge staff members at SickKids.Lori is a Registered Nurse in the Edocrine/Thyroid Clinic at SickKids. In her role, Lori sees approximately 80 new babies each year and is currently following close to 400 patients through her clinic. She typically sees families once a year for a check-up, and she gets great pride in watching the kids grow up. They are “her babies.”
Lori loves meeting all of the families who make their way through her clinic. She affectionately calls them “my patients and my families.” It is the motivation behind why she became a nurse. She loves working with and being around people.
It is the development of relationships with patients and families that gives Lori the most satisfaction in her role. She has been delighted to have experienced so many wonderful moments at SickKids so far, and has been moved by the many, many families she has had the pleasure of meeting throughout her career.
"I’m so thankful to be able to use my knowledge, skill and care to provide a meaningful impact in the lives of children."
Leah is a clinical support nurse on the cardiology inpatient unit at SickKids. She also coordinates the cardiac surgery pre-operative outpatient clinic.
Leah loves to be involved in the SickKids community and enjoys taking part in initiatives that contribute to improving the hospital environment for staff, patients and families. This passion has led her to become a member of both the nursing engagement group and nursing practice council on her unit. She has also been involved in the Continuous Improvement Program that aims to improve processes on her unit and provide the highest quality of family-centred care. And if that wasn’t enough to keep her busy, she has also had the opportunity to lead the annual Labatt Family Heart Centre Family Education Day.
“I’m so thankful to be able to use my knowledge, skill and care to provide a meaningful impact in the lives of children and their families,” said Leah.
If Lori, Leah or one of the other remarkable nurses at SickKids has made a difference to you and your family and you’d like to say thanks, consider honouring them through the SMILE program.
The SMILE program provides families and staff the opportunity to acknowledge staff members at SickKids while also providing a donation that will support the highest priority needs of the hospital and the Staff Professional Development Fund. The honoured staff member will receive a SMILE pin that they can wear with pride as well as a card notifying them that a donation has been made to SickKids in their honour.
