Nursing faculty and teams awarded by ARNM

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The Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba (ARNM) announced its 2020 Professional Nursing Awards recently, recognizing four faculty members and two teams from the College of Nursing.

Dr. Susan McClement, associate dean (research), said all winners are well-deserving of the awards, showcasing the college’s excellence in nursing administration, research and education.

Dean Dr. Netha Dyck received the Award of Excellence – Nursing Administration, which is presented to registered nurses who exemplify transformational leadership qualities and promote a culture of innovation and practice excellence.

“Netha Dyck inspires enthusiasm, by helping others believe that they are part of something bigger than themselves and “walks the talk” daily by embodying values, beliefs, and direction of the College of Nursing,” said McClement.

Instructor Danielle Yaffe was recognized with the Award of Excellence – Nursing Education, which is presented to registered nurses who practice as a nurse educator in a college/university or clinical setting and demonstrate teaching excellence by encouraging critical thinking and innovation.

“Danielle Yaffe strives to create a collaborative versus competitive clinical learning experience through the use of peer teaching, whereby students assist each other in the sharing of clinical knowledge and completion of clinical tasks,” McClement said. “Her clinical evaluations by her students affirm her abilities as an exceptionally skilled clinical teacher.”

Dr. Annette Schultz, professor, and Dr. Kellie Thiessen, associate professor and director of the Bachelor of Midwifery program, both received the Award of Excellence – Nursing Research. This award is presented to registered nurses who promote the value of nursing and enhance the body of knowledge related to the art and/or science of nursing.

“Annette Schultz’s research approach embraces active inclusion and engagement of patients, service providers, knowledge users, and policy makers,” McClement said. “Her research has informed the  the advancement of health equity and social justice within tobacco-control initiatives and surfaced understandings of Indigenous women’s perspectives of heart health that need to be considered along with current biomedical practice.

“Kellie Thiessen is building a strong research program in maternity care and is making valuable contributions to informing health policy, health services and health workforce planning,” McClement added. “She has celebrated a remarkable number of successes in scholarly and research productivity including grants, publications and presentations.”

The Manitoba Centre for Nursing and Health Research and College of Nursing simulation team, were both also recognized with the Outstanding Nursing Unit, Program or Interprofessional Team Award. This award is presented to a unit, program or interprofessional team that has made a significant and meaningful difference to the health and well-being of a client population in a direct care, education, administrative or research setting.

Recognition of the MCNHR was particularly notable, as 2020 marked the 35th anniversary of the centre.

“For 35 years the MCNHR has made significant contributions in advancing nursing research in Manitoba by growing research funding, building research capacity and promoting nursing research,” McClement said.

McClement noted the simulation team’s award comes in a year when they rose to the challenge of shifting to online simulation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Clinical placements, theory classes, skills labs, and simulation centres were closed and could no longer be conducted with interpersonal contact.  For simulation, this meant that the simulation experiences needed to be conducted online,” she said, noting that online simulation includes virtual reality experiences, gaming and computer-based simulation.