Are they serving me? And tentionally generated by the attitudes of again, tuning into the body. Am I eating colleagues. Am I eating less? Am I drinking enough fluid? How am I sleeping? How to that [full bladder], or to eat, but if you want to take five minutes to go for a walk, are my relationships? Am I able to feel connected? Am I socializing? Am I able to be present in to vent their frustrations, Burns explains my hobbies and my activities?
Am I just how this can serve to discourage open going through the motions? Are you noticing a colleague is more irritaissues. Absolutely, nurses stantly, maybe they are quieter? Burns says she always makes time for blow off steam. We absolutely love dark humour. But we have to be careful about self-care despite her own busy life. They say emotions to care for each other. But we keep There is no question Burns is passionate that emotional content going by either in her call for nurses to display compasdenying it or attaching assumptions sion towards each other and to facilitate about what that emotion is.
I the pressure the profession places on. She calls on nurses to be honest with themselves and others, and to have real conversations about mental health. That honesty also means the onus of improving mental health within the profession falls not just on employers, but on nurses and the nursing community too, she says.
Attitudes about mental health are improving. Yet Burns says she still meets nurses who have significant fear about the nursing college learning they are going for counselling or having mental health issues. I think the time is now. Whether fantasy and science fiction, or graphic non-fiction, the stories tell of the fantastic feats of superheroes or the desperation of a zombie apocalypse.
A group of faculty and students at the UBC School of Nursing have given a new reason to explore the graphic novella. Not for escapism, but instead to address a reality we wish were merely a story in a comic — the very real story of bullying in nursing.
The novella was made possible by the UBC Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund, created to enrich student learning with innovative educational enhancements. The fund is financed entirely by a portion of tuition paid by UBC Vancouver students. Stepping Out of the Shadows tells the story of student nurse Alex.
She is paired with an RN and their worlds collide in a painful way — Alex becomes the direct target of bullying. The novella depicts her experience and offers some coping and response strategies for anyone who may witness or experience bullying.
Workplace bullying is widespread in Canada and is a significant problem for. According to a CBC News report, 40 percent of Canadians have experienced one or more acts of workplace bullying at least once a week. And a study on bullying in the nursing profession in the journal Medscape found that that between 21 and 46 percent of nurses experienced or witnessed bullying.
CRAB stands for Cognitive Rehearsal to Address Bullying, an approach where participants are given scripts to practice in advance of encountering an incidence of bullying. Their tips below are helpful for students and working nurses alike.
Understand what bullying is. You can find it at www. Get the support you need. Witnessing or experiencing bullying can affect our mental health and wellness. Check if your institutions education and health care have specific policies in place to address bullying.
Are there clear and transparent reporting mechanisms? Are policies and procedures respectful of all parties involved? Attend or advocate for bullying content in nursing curricula in schools and health care environments. Use strategies such as cognitive rehearsal to practice scripts, then practice, practice, practice. Know that bullying is not simply an interpersonal interaction. Consider the context in which bullying occurs. Are there structures or processes in place that allow bullying to occur?
According to the project, research studies have shown that the likelihood of nurses and nursing students witnessing or experiencing bullying during their careers ranges from 17 percent to over 90 percent. She explains how the CRAB project began. Researchers then conducted a qualitative research study with schools of nursing and other health-care professional schools. The research resulted in a published paper,.
So those policies are not. BCNU was the first union to negotiate this standard, which includes a set of guidelines focused on the development of a system of positive factors that support psychologically healthy and safe workplaces. In the meantime, new respectful workplace policies created by WorkSafeBC in are tools that all healthcare workers can use to address bullying and harassment in the workplace.
Section 5. If they witness or are a target of bullying and harassment, they should report it to a supervisor and contact a BCNU steward. As the union strives to support members and students affected by bullying, Stepping Out of the Shadows reminds readers in a traditionally escapist format that when this behaviour exists, escapism is not an option — the problem is real.
For someone who is the target of this abusive behaviour, there is hope that resources like Stepping Out of the Shadows can help further union and employer efforts to confront and eliminate bullying and make this behavior a thing of the past. The year was chosen to coincide with the th anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, one of the founders of modern nursing.
And how significant that WHO proclamation has been. Little could we have known in that would indeed become a year that has seen nurses rise to the challenge that is the COVID pandemic. And as comes to a close, we can look back and see how nurses have played a critical role in saving lives and improving health on a provincial, national and global level.
Nurses have made a serious difference in the lives of patients, residents and clients. The nursing profession was already seeing its share of challenges with increased patient acuity, complex population needs and a health-care system struggling to meet demand. These factors have played a large role in the moral and professional distress many nurses are experiencing.
Nurses and other health-care workers are worried about the risks they face each working day. Comprising about 20 percent of COVID cases in Canada, they are more likely to contract the virus than the general population. The pandemic is a story of courage, dedication and professionalism by health-care workers, whose voices have gone largely unheard. Underprotected, under-resourced and under-appreciated, they continue to provide care, despite grave fears for their own safety and the safety of colleagues, loved ones and patients.
When the WHO proclaimed The Year of the Nurse and Midwife, it identified key investment areas that could influence and improve health services around the world. This included investment in more nurseled services, making nurses central to primary health care, employing more specialist nurses and investing in nursing leadership.
We saw an outpouring of recognition and gratitude during National Nursing Week, when hundreds of members wrote to tell us what their co-workers mean to them, and to acknowledge the important work they do.
How long have you been nursing? Just a little shy of 10 years. Why did you become a nurse and when did you know that nursing was for you?
I used to work as a chef and one day I was cooling down after grilling endless steaks. My co-worker did not become a nurse after all. What do you appreciate most about your fellow nurses? Why do you want to acknowledge Hiromi Okano? I would like to especially acknowledge the unsung hero Hiromi Okano, who is always friendly and caring. But this time she really surprised us. Early on in the pandemic she made handmade nonmedical hair caps and gave them to her nurse colleagues for free.
How would you describe the work you do in one word? You witness birth and death, and ever changing human drama in between. It made me somewhat uncomfortable at first.
But soon I tried to be positive and stay focused every day. COVID19 made our lives difficult. However, it was a great opportunity to reflect on the many aspects of my work and life. Name one thing on your nursing bucket list.
Doing one night-shift fully staffed and watching the northern lights along with some child patients who are sick — in the wide-open wilderness of Yellowknife.
On her days off, she would spend an hour to make each cap using a yearold sewing machine. Each of her 60 caps was impeccably sewn, one stitch to another, as a symbol of our solidarity. I am truly blessed to work with her. Every time I see my team wearing the caps, I feel proud and resilient. She did not just make caps, she built grassroots comradery. The caps brought the nurses together and conveyed a silent message that we care for each other in these difficult times. This crisis presented us with a new challenge.
However, it made us even stronger and reminded us of our noble duties as nurses. Thank you Hiromi, you are a true gem on our unit. Celebrating Our Profession What is your unit or specialty, and where do you work? General surgery, St. Thirty-two years. She would often come home and tell me about her patients and the other nurses she worked with.
It moved me to the point where I wanted to be a nurse to make a difference too. I knew nursing was for me when I realized: 1. I am a night owl by nature, perfect for night shifts!
Most importantly, I realized the difference I could make in my patients lives! Vulnerable — like I could catch it and die! To teach the next generation. He just holds it together. He is a real example to the younger nurses just starting out. Tabatha on Brad Why do you want to acknowledge Brad Chase?
I have never seen him display anything less than complete professionalism, compassion and selflessness towards his patients or colleagues. He is one of a kind! His sense of humor is so contagious. And when we have really difficult patients, whatever the reason, he shows absolute professionalism. No matter. COVID has made me go through a mix of emotions including fear, anxiety, and uncertainty.
However, I have learned to navigate uncertain situations by being flexible, and taking it day by day instead of being overwhelmed. The hard physical, emotional, and stressful situations we face can be very challenging.
At the end of a shift, we are all still standing and still able to smile and appreciate each other. I appreciate their resilience and willingness to come back tomorrow and do it all over again! My family also influenced me as most of my aunts in the US are nurses. They have encouraged me to take up nursing as it is a stable and secure career. I would like to be a part of a medical mission team someday. I work in surgical day care at Surrey Memorial Hospital. Sixteen years. I have always wanted to work in the medical field since I was a child.
I appreciate my surgical day care colleagues who are always willing to help. I also appreciate the good laughs we have — especially after a stressful day. I appreciate the care I received from Sherry. As a nurse myself, I am so used to providing care to others and not being cared for as a patient. It was different and difficult for me being on the other end, asking for help. Sherry listened to my concerns and acted immediately.
She cared for me in the best way she could with empathy and compassion. I am grateful for the care she provided. I am also thankful to the other staff of T7. I wanted to see the results of my actions immediately.
After I completed my degree, I applied to nursing. It makes me sad. Sad for those who have lost loved ones and for those whose lives and livelihoods have been indirectly affected. Sad to see the fear. Sad to see the division it has created in society. Celebrating Our Profession What is your unit or specialty?
Eight years. Nursing as a career was always in the back of my mind in high school. They are at our side for our hour shifts. They deal with complex patients and families, support a dynamic workforce of nurses and allied health staff, and must juggle the seemingly endless demand for surgical beds.
Amanda and Beata are yin and yang. They are very different in how they carry out their roles and how they cope. Amanda does her role with grace and a steady hand. Beata does it with a flair for drama and high energy. They both make me appreciate what we can accomplish as a team.
When either of them is away, it is a struggle to find those who are willing to step into their shoes. I have tried to listen to the perspectives of those who believe that this whole pandemic is fake But I cannot convince them.
Going to work feels like trying to put a fire out while some pour gasoline. And for that, I feel extremely helpless. I only wish that this was true. The photograph may only show the tracks on my face, but to me these tracks have a story to tell, a story that is only truly understood by those of us in the arena. The arena where we are fighting against this disease that has already taken too many lives, fighting to keep our patients alive, fighting against our own burnout and fighting against time.
We have to watch and support each other in the frontlines. Without each other, our jobs and daily work will become even more difficult. After the first COVID vaccination, it feels one step closer for things getting back to the way they were. In a pandemic that feels like eternity, nice to make a small but important step back to resuming our lives. After the back surgery that followed the injury, her son was prescribed Oxycontin to manage the pain. It was the end of a journey with substance use that began when he was a year-old young man.
Sadly, BC continues to endure a terrible burden of death on account of the toxic drug supply. And since , the number of people who have died from drug toxicity in BC has risen tragically and dramatically. According to BCs chief coroner Lisa Lapointe, at least 1, British Columbians lost their lives in without access to a regulated, safe.
This represents the most deaths ever in a single year in this province due to an unnatural cause, and an alarming death rate of As has been the pattern throughout this public health emergency, the vast majority of those dying are inside a private residence. Fentanyl continues to drive the health crisis. The substance was found in over 86 percent of deaths between and According to Lapointe, the toxic drug market remains the number one public health risk in BC, with deaths due to toxicity surpassing the number of deaths due to suicide, motor vehicle collisions, homicide and prescription drug deaths combined.
Sadly, she also reported that in the emergency had become far worse, and there is seemingly no end in sight. Lapointe said there is no question that harm reduction measures introduced since the public health emergency was declared have had a measurable effect of reducing deaths in The widespread provision of naloxone, the opening of overdose prevention sites and supervised consumption sites and drug checking services reduced poisonings and the number of.
In that time, we will have lost almost 7, people to the toxic supply of opioids. Thousands of years of life and potential gone. We must turn this tide. Encouraging nurses and physicians to prescribe alternatives to their patients will save lives. Waiting weeks and months for access to recovery and treatment services means the difference between life and death. We know that decades of stigma and punishment have brought us to the devastating place we are in today.
We need to move from punishing and blaming to supporting and healing. However, since the start of the COVID pandemic, drug toxicity deaths have again been increasing at an alarming and steady rate.
Most are mothers who have lost children to drug harms. They can put money approach to substance use through the and resources into pandemic emerpromotion of evidence-based policy gencies and choose to ignore other change.
The decriminalization of people who use drugs is an important step toward removing the stigma surrounding substance use. There is now wide consensus that addiction and substance use is a health-care issue, not a criminal or a moral one, and it should not be addressed by criminalizing personal possession and consumption.
Sorensen notes that the crisis in that country soon stabilized and in the ensuing years it saw dramatic drops in problematic drug use, infection rates, overdose deaths and drug-related crime. This could include developing a new regulation that would prevent police officers from expending resources on the enforcement of simple possession offences under federal law. While possession itself remains illegal, this approach creates alternative pathways for law enforcement to link people to supports and services they may need.
Legal advocates have since countered this claim, and have argued that enacting legislation to amend the Police Act is within the authority of the province, which bears responsibility for ensuring the health of British Columbians. Fortunately, de facto decriminalization is already occurring in many areas of BC through the discretion of law enforcement when they interact with people who use drugs.
Last July, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police recognized that substance use disorder should be a health priority and not a criminal justice matter, and announced its support for the decriminalization of small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use. And last year the public prosecution service of Canada developed new charging guidelines for simple possession of illegal drugs, only accepting charges where there are extenuating circumstance impacting public safety.
In the meantime, there is still a need for long-term investments in mental health and substance use care to build a system where providers feel supported and people get the care they need. Picco believes that nurses are an important part of the solution. She says that with the right resources, they have the skills to help more people who are at risk from toxic substances.
The rate of opioid poisoning deaths among First Nations people in BC is over four times higher than that of other residents.
Many harm reduction advocates argue that the new measures fall short of true safer supply, which would provide pharmaceutical-grade versions of illegal substances, such as diacetylmorphine, instead of alternatives. Picco knows from experience how difficult it can be for substance users who cannot access a safe supply of diacetylmorphine. Health-care delivery is a provincial responsibility, but the opioid crisis is national in scope, and provinces cannot adequately meet the challenge on their own.
And still Ottawa has refused to declare the current opioid and fentanyl poisoning crisis a National Public Health Emergency under the Emergencies Act. In the meantime, she says BCNU will continue the fight to reducing and eliminate preventable deaths and support the the thousands of family members like Picco who have been touched by the opioid crisis.
This exacerbates chronic health conditions, increases isolation and further adds to the complexities of the issue. The aversion often comes from the experience of being discriminated against by the very health-care workers who are tasked with providing care.
Producers hope to engage with many community partners and share of updated curriculum materials. The film and accompanying educational playlists are designed to give students and instructors in the health-care field access to the knowledge and experience of pioneering practitioners. Most importantly the nurses reflect on the attitudes they bring to their work—attitudes that can make or break their relationships with the people to whom they provide practical, non-judgmental health care on a daily basis.
The current opioid crisis, which has seen even more deaths than the COVID pandemic in Canada, has meant that the film Bevel Up has even more relevance to commuWatch the National nities. The launch of the new educational materiFilm Board als for Bevel Up will share important knowledge to documentary nurse educators, point-of-care workers and comBevel Up on your mobile device munities dealing first hand with the opioid crisis.
BCNU supports the rights of all nurses struggling with SUDs to participate in alternative, individualized treatment strategies.
The in-depth study describes the current regulatory approach, and delivers a series of recommendations aimed at improving the standards for addiction treatment in BC. Those long-awaited reforms include promoting evidence-based, patient-centered treatment approaches, reducing opportunities for harm and coercion and promoting individualized risk management.
No community or profession is immune to SUDs. And nursing — with its high stress and burnout levels, heavy workloads, staff shortages and injuries — is certainly no exception.
Nurses are given little or no choice when it comes to choosing their own path to. Meanwhile other evidence-based outpatient services and treatments are being withheld. They can also be barred from using the same individualized evidence-based and culturally safe care BC nurses routinely provide to patients with SUDs. Those inconsistencies include mandatory or coercive attendance at step support group meetings. Studies show those sessions may actually increase the risk of relapse.
Supporters of abstinence-based treatment claim that AA — founded by two recovering alcoholics in , and based on Christian beliefs, not. They also state that many step programs have been adapted for atheists and agnostics.
But critics, including some nurses enrolled in AA and similar programs, say they find it extremely difficult to place their hopes for a new life on an unknown higher power.
Relapse is rampant among the general public, with 91 to 94 percent of participants relapsing after withdrawal from opioids and 43 to 83 percent relapsing after treatment for alcohol use disorder. The college had. And there are concerns the college may refuse to provide nurses with extended-release naltrexone. XR-NTX blocks the mind-altering effects of opiates and alcohol, and decreases the desire to take those substances.
Although US studies of XR-NTX show promise in treating nurses with drug and alcohol problems, it is only offered in Canada for clinical and research purposes. We need nurses returning to work healthy.
To learn more about LEAP, see sidebar on page Staff have also made sure that nurses in monitoring programs can arrange their own meetings and calls with monitors at a time that suits their schedules, and that support group attendance is not mandatory. Replace 2. Bylaw Article 5 — add new language 5. Bylaw Article 5 5. As a component of this election process, in accordance with Bylaws Articles 4. If the Respondent is found guilty of any breach. If the Respondent is found guilty of any breach of duty, impose a penalty which may include: 1.
Article 5. In the event that the Member is guilty of a breach of duty, impose any penalty that it considers appropriate in the circumstances. In the event that the Member is guilty of a breach of duty, impose any penalty that it considers appropriate in the circumstances; and. All decisions and determinations of the Hearing Board regarding Article 1. Require the Complainant, the Respondent, or any other Member who may have information relevant to the investigation of the Complaint:.
Changes in circumstances after the time of publication may impact the accuracy of the information published, and the information may change without notice. The Bylaws Committee or the BCNU and its employees are not in any way liable for the accuracy of any information provided. BCNU members are frequently asking questions on social media platforms, such as Facebook and other platforms;.
BCNU servicing staff will help avoid confusion, conflicting contract interpretation, and misinformation;. Ageism has three foci: 1 the aging process 2 limitations and accommodations arising from the aging process, and 3 specifically, the experience of workers in relation to age and work;. Canada is facing a growing nursing shortage, and projections indicate Canada will be short almost 60, full-time equivalent nurses in ;. One in five Canadians aged 65 and older, reported working during the year, the highest percentage since the Census;.
At least one member will be an Elected Officer;. The goal is to address retention and ageism;. The Working Group will follow internal operational processes to develop the charter, deliverables, timeline, and milestones.
The Working Group will produce a summary and financial report which will be presented to Council within 12 months of forming; and. Knowledge and education aids nurses to create a safer environment for their practice and as result for their patients and the public; and.
BCNU members continue to face challenges and hardships related to the pandemic;. BCNU members deserve compensation at an increased level for the extraordinarily increased labour and unique hazards they face related to the pandemic for its entire duration;.
BCNU protects and advances the health, safety, social and economic well-being of the members; and. The Resolutions Committee, or the BCNU and its employees are not in any way liable for the accuracy of any information provided. Beyond the unending staffing shortages that already existed, care providers were regularly managing unsustainable workloads. Over the years, calls for help have come from those. But it has been an uphill battle. Long-term care, along with. Yet BC seniors today have less access to these services than they did in Almost 20 years of underfunding, privatization and fragmentation of the system have left many seniors, their families and communities patching together care — and even going without.
Between and , access to long-term care and assisted living spaces declined by 20 percent measured as beds relative to the population of people 75 and over. The crisis has also affected the special bond that staff have with the residents in their care.
The next day, one of the residents would die, becoming the first person in Canada to succumb to the virus. Nurses were then getting sick themselves, which meant fewer staff were available to work. It restricted the movement of workers employed in longterm care, assisted living and private mental health facilities. The union also ran a province-wide occupational health and safety campaign to educate members on the importance of practising the precautionary principle when caring for residents in the pandemic.
BCNU is one of a number of health-based organizations that has endorsed. Sordal also points to the risks associated with for-profit ownership and financialized corporate chains, and the large body of research showing how staffing levels and the care provided in for-profit longterm care facilities is generally inferior to that provided by public and non-profitowned facilities.
High staff turnover, which is linked to lower wages and the heavy workloads demanded by inadequate staffing levels, is associated with lower-quality care in large for-profit facilities. And calling for improvements to the long-term care sector is a top priority for BCNU — especially as COVID continues to put pressure on staff, increase workload and expose gaps in patient care.
Sordal says there is no question that nurses should have a seat at the table once that review begins. But this vision cannot be realized until governments make critical investments in nurse staffing. Currently, BC has no legislation governing the staff-.
Studies that have explored the relationship between resident care and. RN staffing have found that higher levels of RNs result in fewer trips to the emergency room and achieve positive health outcomes overall.
The health teams, consisting of LPNs and care aides, also benefit from having more RNs present, as this allows nurses to perform within their scope of practice. We must all work hard to make the system stronger than it was before. BCNU is also calling on the government to develop a clear definition of direct care hours. Point-of-care health-care workers have been sounding the alarm on conditions for years, but governments have failed to take responsibility and act.
Vulnerable nursing home residents, and the workers who are struggling to care for them, are suffering. They deserve better. Tell them we need better long-term care now! The public health restrictions that were enacted in response to the global COVID pandemic upended most in-person events. Over nurses joined the one-day event, logging in from around the province to explore social justice issues affecting the nursing profession.
No stranger to the effects of forced isolation, speaker Dr. Shokoufeh Sakhi began her presentation by sharing her experience as a political prisoner in Iran from to An independent scholar. She has a doctorate in political science from York University, with a specialization in political theory and philosophy. She was detained for her political views and consequently interrogated, put on trial and handed a five-year sentence. For the first time, the event took place online.
Sorensen remarked on the devastating discovery of a mass burial site. Sorensen called the meeting officially to order after delegates held a moment of silence to reflect upon the lives and deaths of the children. Sorensen also reminded attendees of that other historic public health emergency — the opioid crisis — that has still not received the attention it deserves while COVID remains at the.
Sorensen acknowledged the December report from Dr. She thanked nurses for their unwavering courage and resiliency in troubled times, for showing up for their patients, no matter how sick, and for reassuring those sad and alone. We have adapted our learning and support systems to meet our needs and those of our patients. For me, the nurse simply is resilient.
He told delegates that he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a leader by making life better for others. He credits his parents with instilling in him the importance of education, a strong work ethic and respect. Hedman grew up on rural Vancouver Island. Hedman shared his intention to work with members and staff to build a sustainable public health-care system that works for nurses and patients alike. Hedman asked delegates to consider how their union can better serve them in the months and years ahead.
I want to hear from you — what has worked well in the past and what you believe could be improved upon for the future. And none of what remains to be done can be done without all of us working together as heartfelt allies, to make our union and our workplaces more just and equitable.
The NU Leader Award honours a student member or nurse with less then five years of nursing experience. Serafin was nominated during her fourth year of nursing school at University Hospital of Northern BC.
She currently works in long-term care and aspires to become an intensive care nurse. While attending school in Prince George, Serafin co-founded an outreach program known as Spare a Pair, whose purpose is to support marginalized community members. Spare a Pair is percent volunteer run and donation based.
The program continues to grow and is focused on the concept of people helping people. Huertas works in the neurological unit at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, where she was nom-. Huertas began her BCNU activism as a steward in Outside of her advocacy work on behalf of her fellow nurses, Huertas also demonstrates BCNU values through outreach to homeless people, and recently coordinated the collection and delivery of clothing and meals to underprivileged communities in her region.
None of what remains to be done can be done without all of us working together as heartfelt allies. Keynote speaker Meg Soper took to the virtual stage on the last day of convention and spoke to delegates about the importance of thriving in times of change. Soper combined her experience as an RN with comedic skills and a vivacious personality, offering a unique blend of humour and inspirational stories to help members meet the challenge of nursing during a pandemic.
Her presentation, entitled The Secret Sauce…Thriving in Times of Change, shared a much-needed lift — and more than a few laughs — using humour and resilience to shift perspectives and help nurses adapt in times of change. She asked delegates to share what it is in their careers and personal lives that gets them to kick the bedsheets off every day.
Members responded enthusiastically with a variety of passions and Soper rattled them off as fast as she could read them. She said building resiliency and maintaining a positive mindset helps us bounce back from stress that is a normal part of our lives.
Delegates used the BCNU website to email their MLAs and outline how the state of health care is impacting nurses and the patients they care for. Delegates also created their own posters and shared them on social media. From the staggering nursing shortage felt in every corner of the province, to the looming and ongoing violence in health care, convention delegates led the charge initiating a campaign to motivate all members to use their voice to speak up and speak out.
New grads shared experiences of being inundated with tasks and overwhelmed by workload while seasoned nurses relayed the impact of the staffing shortage, from moral distress and burnout to retiring from nursing altogether. Share your personal experience working in the current health-care system with your local MLA. A copy will be sent to the premier, health minister, leader of the official opposition, and the opposition health critic.
When united around a cause, nurses are an effective voice for real change and a better public health-care system for all!
Soper told members that humans have up to 50, thoughts a day. Some positive, countless negative and many repeating over and over. Soper calls it? By leaning into ourselves and leaning into each other.
Bringing awareness to our emotional state helps us become more adaptable to challenging people and situations, she explained. Learning mindfulness techniques gives our brains a boost and helps us stay present in interactions. Convention delegates voted on six proposed amendments as part of day two and three of convention business. Members in attendance defeated a proposed amendment to constitution Article 2 Objectives that would have changed Article 2.
Delegates also rejected a proposal to change the objective in constitution Article 2. A proposed amendment to bylaw Article 4. Remaining proposed amendments that were not debated may be resubmitted ahead of future conventions. Resolutions that were not debated will proceed to Council for disposition.
Significant technical challenges and malfunctions of the virtual convention platform were a primary reason for the delay and eventual tabling of proposed amendments and resolutions. If we go back to the way things were, we will have lost the lesson. Sorensen also reminded delegates of the 40 years of union solidarity, and the activism of previous members that has brought them where they are today.
We are resilient. We are together. The apologetic nature of the response tells you something about the impossibility of the journey. But nursing was not a dream she had imagined pursuing when Arceno was a child.
But when her friends decided to travel to Cebu City the first capital city of the Philippines to take the nursing entrance exam, she decided to do the same. It was there, at the university hospital, that she began to hone her craft working in med. As her career flourished, Arceno began to critically reflect on the.
Arceno began to think about leaving. Her baby was one month old. Following the report, Arceno was required to take a lab skills workshop and courses in critical thinking, leadership and jurisprudence. The next few months were a blur. It was a bittersweet journey: the sweetness of seeing her family and partner and the bitterness of leaving her baby behind. There was work to be done. Arceno obtained her LPN licence in the fall of Now she needed to find a job.
She remembers thinking that in order to be successful she would have to go to every health authority and apply to every small town hospital she could think of. She later received a. But Arceno grew to love the place. You know everyone, and everyone knew my story. Today, Arceno is a full-time registered nurse in Campbell River, where she lives with her partner and two children. Looking back to the day when she first departed Palompon for the west coast of Canada she can scarcely believe how far she has come.
The historical forces behind this immigration are rooted in political, financial, and cultural factors still present to this day. Graduates were required to demonstrate fluency in English to obtain a Philippine nursing licence.
This educational system prepared Filipino nurses to work overseas. Many Filipino nurses, already trained in American-style nursing, came to the US. Some who completed the exchange program would migrate to Canada instead of returning to Asia. Under the guise of helping people from lowincome countries gain citizenship, it creates a pool of highly skilled, yet low-wage workers to provide well-off families with their own private nurses and home support workers.
The LCP allows temporary foreign workers to apply for permanent residency in Canada after completing a month live-in requirement. Approximately 90 percent of LCP caregivers are women from the Philippines and the majority of these are college-educated in nursing.
The recruitment of internationally educated nurses in Canada and the US is still prevalent today. It is critical to understand their personal experiences and the overarching systemic effects of migration.
Both bring a much-needed and valuable nursing perspective to their work as members of the governing BC NDP caucus. Before her election win, Sandhu worked at Vernon Jubilee Hospital as a patient care coordinator. Prior to the election, Chant worked as. She was also a member of the Royal Canadian Navy Reserves for over 40 years.
Update Magazine sat down with Sandhu and Chant to find out what it is like to be a first-time MLA and how both are bringing nursing and union experiences to their new roles. There needed to be a few other folks at the table. My first husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer when we were living in Northern Health, and the lack of resources, such as not being near a cancer centre, not having access to childcare, and other issues inspired my interest in government policies.
Then I started researching more about party policies and the direct impact they have. CHANT I went from a position where I was a team leader with a large program that provided health-care services to the community where I was looked at as a subject matter expert.
Then I went into something where I was learning from the ground up. I will say that between the experience and skill sets that I bring from nursing, the military and from running a Brownie meeting, all those things have proved to be very useful.
That leadership quality has helped me. I was still working even during the campaign and after getting elected, so that has helped me shape decisions when I bring my voice to the caucus. We have to recognize that and look at the best way to maintain significant quality of life as people age, ideally in-place if we can support that in a variety of ways.
I know that in my riding, we have made many strides when it comes to housing. The opioid crisis is the second health emergency that the province and our health-care workers, including nurses, are facing. I always thought I was well connected with my community, and I am. I realized shortly after the election that we created history with my being elected as the first woman of color in the Okanagan region. It was a proud moment for me when I realized that people have accepted me as a woman of colour and that I could shatter the glass ceiling.
I faced a lot of racism during the campaign. For example, my sign was defaced with a swastika and a misogynist word. I found it as I was walking around on the outside of the parliament building. In March, after the spring session started, it was my turn to go there for a week. I was so amazed that I was not nervous at all. I felt passionate about what I was going to talk about. Another amazing thing is the staff from the legislature, including the constituency office staff.
It took us six months to physically get into the office so we could refresh it and refurbish it. They are speaking to constituents, but they are speaking on my behalf. It took me two or three months to find the office, then my next search was to find office staff. Until mid-December, I was working by myself. With COVID, there are frustrated people and there was a point where my staff did receive some verbal abuse.
I was proud to stand up to that because. But in my riding, there will be people who are concerned about that issue as they want more opportunities and jobs. You have to find the balance and make sure that you are a bridge between both sides. Everybody has brought so much to the table in terms of skill sets, presentation, how they do business, their view on things, and of how they include people in discussions etc. It truly is teamwork because we are working together to move the government and the province forward and promote opportunity for everybody who lives here.
Mine was Minister Selena Robinson, the finance minister. This caucus is very approachable. UPDATE Are there any other nurses at the legislature and how has your experience as nurses contributed to your new roles? I will say that Harwinder and I bonded almost instantly. Nursing has been very useful regarding the new legislation being brought in around disability and barriers to accessibility.
Nursing, I believe firmly, has broadened the discussions at the legislative tables and informed some of the decisions that have been made. Susie and I started having long conversations over the phone before we met each other. When it was our turn to go to the legislature each week of each month, we would go for walks and strolls and have conversations about how we can help shape policies.
I would like to see more nurses become MLAs. How has the pandemic affected your work life? When I was campaigning, normally you go out and you knock on doors, and you say hi to people. You hold events where you can mingle, speak to people and go to things that are happening. Zoom technology was not new to me — we were using it a lot at BCNU. My previous work with the union gave me a good understanding of how Zoom and technology work. I still deeply miss the personal connection, meeting constituents.
You build stronger relationships and people feel more comfortable. We are optimistic we will be attending the fall sessions in person. We recognize those needs and work toward meeting them in a variety of ways. There is a very robust program of support for mental health. Update Magazine Page Content. March - April In this issue: Read our feature story on the tools that nurses now have to help tackle the problem of toxic workplace cultures. Nursing on Empty The nursing profession is highly demanding with many physical and psychological hazards, and nurses are routinely exposed to trauma, violence and human suffering on a daily basis.
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