2012 Merit Awards Recipients

As a practising clinical nurse specialist in cardiac surgery, as an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia and as president of the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses, Jocelyn can truly say that she takes nursing to heart.

In fact, she is recognized worldwide for developing the Reimer-Kent Postoperative Wellness Model, which has successfully reduced common post-op complications and resulted in rapid surgical recovery for patients.

She was also instrumental in implementing and broadening the nurse practitioner role in B.C.

Jocelyn earned her undergraduate and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Manitoba.

Just two years after starting as a staff nurse at the Regina General Hospital, Dianne received a series of promotions and new challenges that led her towards a career in education and research.

Through her many positions at the University of Calgary’s faculty of nursing, she has contributed significantly to its management and success. As the current dean, Dianne is leading a distinguished nursing faculty that is building a reputation for solid nursing research.

Diane is also an active member of the Canadian Council of Cardiovascular Nurses and the Alberta Nursing Education Administrators.

Dianne earned her BScN from the University of Saskatchewan and her master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing from the University of Calgary.

As a professor at the University of Calgary’s faculty of nursing, Nancy has earned a reputation for her teaching excellence and expertise in the patient-family dynamics of children’s cancer care, her main area of focus at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation and Research Institute.

Nancy’s commitment has earned her three Students’ Union Teaching Excellence awards and the Hall of Fame Teaching Excellence award.

Much of Nancy’s career has focused on hermeneutics — the tradition, philosophy and practice of interpretation. She has been instrumental in founding the Canadian Hermeneutic Institute and Canada’s first journal on applied hermeneutics.

Nancy received her undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing from the University of Calgary.

As professor at the University of Toronto’s faculty of nursing, Ellen is known as an acclaimed researcher and a highly engaged mentor, having supervised many of Canada’s most respected nurse researchers.

The principal investigator of major international studies of nursing care for women during labour and birth, Ellen is known throughout the obstetric world as the expert in this field.

Ellen held Canada’s first endowed nursing research chair and was the first nurse appointed to the Scientific and Technical Advisory Group of the World Health Organization’s Department of Reproductive Health and Research.

Ellen earned her BSN from Georgetown University and her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Toronto.

Following her career as a clinician and an educator at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Donna became a nursing consultant at the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses’ Association (SRNA), where she later became registrar and then executive director — a role she held for 18 years.

Among her many policy accomplishments, Donna implemented the SRNA Quality Workplace Program in Saskatchewan years before similar initiatives were introduced throughout Canada.

She also led SRNA in designing and implementing legislative changes to pave the way for nurse practitioners to practise in the province.

Donna received her undergraduate degree in nursing from the University of Saskatchewan and a master’s of science in health administration from Central Michigan University.