Photo of Nursing Lab at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley - Pembroke, Ontario

Welcome to the 2008 bulletin about some of the interesting Nursing News taking place in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the Pembroke Campus.

Read these news items below:

~ BScN Graduate Awarded Dr. Todd Bursary
~ Nursing Students Get a Valley Welcome

~ In a Class of Their Own: Pinning Ceremony

~ First Graduating Class

~ Transplant Pioneer Visits Pembroke

NEWS RELEASE:  B.Sc.N. Graduate Awarded Dr. Thomas Todd Bursary

PEMBROKE, ON  September 26, 2008 - When transplant pioneer Dr. Thomas Todd spoke at a community luncheon in Pembroke last spring, he was particularly inspiring to the Nursing students from Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley.  Dr. Todd shared stories about being on the world’s first successful lung and heart transplant surgery team, recalling with enthusiasm and compassion the challenges, successes, and disappointments both doctors and patients experienced as they forged new paths in transplant surgery .

One of the nursing students in the audience was Almonte’s Deborah Younger-Lewis, a fourth-year BScN student at the Pembroke Campus, who travelled from Ottawa that day to hear him speak.  Coincidentally, during lunch she ended up sitting beside Dr. Todd, also an Almonte resident, and they talked more about his life as a surgeon in Canada and abroad.  Following his community presentation, Younger-Lewis joined her BScN classmates at the College for their Philosophical Issues in Health Care course, where Dr. Todd lectured on ethical questions that arise from transplant surgery.

In his recent book, “Breathless: A Transplant Surgeon’s Journal”, Dr. Todd captured his personal experiences and relationships with patients and their families.  When he accepted an invitation to speak in Pembroke, Dr. Todd offered to donate the proceeds of his book sales to Algonquin College for a one-time bursary for a fourth-year Pembroke nursing student.  The College’s criteria for the award stated that it would be presented to a graduating BScN student who best exemplified those qualities reminiscent of Dr. Todd and his work: a pioneering spirit, a sense of innovation, demonstrated excellence, and most of all, compassion.

Six months later, the Dr. Thomas Todd bursary award recipient was being announced during another nursing class and, this time, the guest speaker was new graduate Younger-Lewis.  She was giving a presentation to nursing students and professors about her volunteer activities in Africa, a journey she embarked upon with her parents, Douglas and Cathy, just days after her nursing pinning ceremony last spring.

The family travelled together to Malawi, Africa where they were volunteers involved in the Likulezi Project, a grassroots community care project supported by the Almonte United Church. While there for just over three weeks, Younger-Lewis participated in many project activities including biking to remote communities to help project workers make home visits to people with AIDS, and working at an HIV/AIDS outpatient clinic.  She and her parents also brought several boxes of gloves for the Holy Family Mission Hospital in the Phalombe district, one of the poorest regions of rural Malawi.  The gloves, which are an extremely important commodity, particularly at an AIDS patient facility, were donated by a number of medical facilities in the Pembroke and Almonte areas. 

As she spoke about her African experience to the new group of Nursing students at Algonquin College, Younger-Lewis showed photographs of the region, the children and families she met, and the community workers with whom she and her parents worked. She talked about how rewarding her experience was and how humbled and inspired she was by the people who lived and worked there.  Following the question period, nursing professor Louise Edmonds, announced that a recipient had been chosen for the special Dr. Thomas Todd Bursary and, fittingly, it was Deborah Younger-Lewis.

"I feel honoured to be the recipient of this special award”, said Younger-Lewis.  “Hearing Dr. Todd speak about his experiences as a transplant surgeon reinforced my interest in working at the Heart Institute.  I hope I can bring to my work the same caring and compassion shown by Dr. Todd throughout his career."

Karen Davies, Dean of Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley, congratulated Younger-Lewis, saying that she exemplified all the qualities of a caring and compassionate nursing professional.  As one of the first graduates of the four-year University of Ottawa and Algonquin College collaborative nursing degree program at the Pembroke Campus, Dean Davies said Younger-Lewis has demonstrated the dedication, work ethic, and innovative character to succeed in her career.

 “Even as a third-year student in her community clinical experience, Deborah made a difference to her chosen profession.  She and a fellow nursing student helped staff at a seniors’ facility develop a safe medications protocol, a project which they subsequently presented at medical conferences in Toronto and Edmonton” said Davies.

“I am sure that her recent volunteer work in Africa will, no doubt, continue to be an ongoing volunteer project for Deborah”, continued Dean Davies.  “Now, as she begins her nursing career at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, we know that her eagerness to learn more and her desire to help patients in need will be valuable qualities that she contributes to her new workplace and to the nursing profession.   We wish her much success in her career and know that we will hear of great things from Deborah in the future“.

Nursing Students Get A $500 Valley Welcome           Back to Top^  

By ANTHONY DIXON, STAFF WRITER, Pembroke Daily Observer

PEMBROKE, ON; September 4, 2008 - First year students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley got a $500 handshake when they were welcomed to school Tuesday.

Annually, the College hosts an orientation luncheon for the students during which each is presented with a $500 bursary.

Jamie Bramburger, manager of community and student affairs at the college, explained that the bursary is the result of a community partnership involving local health care providers.

Mr. Bramburger said providing some assistance to first-year students helps attract people to Pembroke to take the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Algonquin.

This year, 32 students are registered to begin the four-year program.

"We shoot for 25 so that's a very healthy number," Mr. Bramburger said. "The community partners have been very generous in providing the bursaries up to this point and we hope they continue."

This is the fifth consecutive year that the bursaries have been presented to first-year students. On hand to present the cheques were representatives of the three main community partners, namely Pierre Noel, president and CEO of the Pembroke Regional Hospital, Shelley Sheedy, administrator of Miramichi Lodge, and Shayne Hoelke, administrator of Bonnechere Manor in Renfrew.

Mr. Hoelke, who attended Algonquin College in the late 1980s, was the guest speaker at the luncheon.  He reminded the students of the long-standing tradition of training nurses in Pembroke.  In addition, he asked the students to consider remaining here in the Ottawa Valley when they graduate. "New graduates are very important to all the community partners in the Valley. Give us some consideration for your careers," he said.

Campus Dean Karen Davies welcomed the new students to the college, telling them the program they were embarking on was "fabulous."   She encouraged the students to become involved in activities at the school and to become part of the campus. "There is a long tradition of nursing education in Pembroke and your class is continuing on with that tradition. The program is fun, it's hard work, but it's interesting and exciting," she said.

First year student Jacqueline Fraser from Beachburg said the bursary will really help her out this year.  "I worked all summer to pay for tuition and the bursary will pay for my books which is really good," she said. "I also received the health science award when I graduated (high school) so my first year is paid for without OSAP (Ontario Student Assistance Program)."

Brittany McKenna of Ottawa is also a first-year student. She said she appreciated the bursary, as she needs it along with OSAP to pay for tuition, books and living in Pembroke for four years.

Nadia Mohamed is in her second year of the bachelor of nursing program.  "(In my first year) the bursary helped in terms of living expenses, books and paying rent," she said, adding that the extra money meant a little less stress.

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In a Class of Their Own:                                                  Back to Top^

First class to receive nursing degrees at Algonquin College
in the Ottawa Valley makes history with graduates

By SEAN CHASE, STAFF WRITER, The Pembroke Daily Observer            

PEMBROKE, ON - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 - Algonquin College quietly made some history over the weekend graduating its first students to ever obtain a degree.

During a special inaugural ceremony Saturday at the Pembroke campus, 11 students, who started out in a class of 17 four years ago, finally received the mantle of Registered Nurse.

The students received the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B. Sc. N) degree and were each presented with a pin symbolizing their readiness for this professional practice. The pins are from the University of Ottawa which has partnered with the College to make this four-year program possible.

However, the partnership has gone beyond academia, noted Debra Balasevicius, chair of Health and Community Studies. She noted that bursaries made available by several prominent community health agencies, such as the Pembroke Regional Hospital and Long-Term Care, made it possible for many students to attend the program. Their graduation also comes during a critical province-wide nursing shortage.

"These graduates are in hot demand," said Ms. Balasevicius. "They have proven themselves and are exceptional."  Over the next five to 10 years, the average age of a nurse will be 55, she estimated. With the nursing profession facing a possible flood of retirements, this next generation of caregivers couldn't come at a better time. Last fall, the second series of the program enrolled 34 students.   "That is a significant growth, which means the education of nurses is here to stay," she said.  The nursing pinning ceremony was first initiated in the 1860s by Florence Nightingale, the pioneer of modern nursing. While convocation marks the end of their university or college education, the pinning symbolizes a nurse's entry into the profession.

The 2008 graduates were Erin Brine, Melissa Wilkinson,  Kristen Darraugh, Meagan Donnelly, Deborah Younger-Lewis, Christine Brannan, Chantelle Bergeron Suzanne Boivin, Elizabeth Fletcher, Denise Rogge and Miranda Guiney.

Every one of the graduates has received job offers. Erin Brine, a General Panet graduate and Algonquin College's 2008 valedictorian, said the area has not had this influx of nurses because the program hasn't been offered in such a long time. She has no illusions that the career ahead of her is going to be an easy one.  "The workload is really heavy for nurses so you have to know your limits and advocate for your patients," said Ms. Brine, adding today's nurse must raise public awareness about the challenges the profession faces. "We need to be leaders out there."  

Deborah Younger-Lewis will be jumping into her profession immediately when she travels to the African country of Malawi, where she will work in a rural clinic.  Despite being in a different culture, she says the principles she was taught will apply equally. 

“You don't need the hi-tech machines to be a nurse," said the Almonte native, whose parents have conducted development work on the African continent. "You can use your personal nursing skills and you can make a difference that way." The majority of her patients will be suffering from HIV/AIDS. During her month-long assignment, Ms. Younger-Lewis expects to have to comfort patients in palliative care. "It's an absolute privilege to be there with someone at that stage of their life," she remarked. "To give that extra comfort is very rewarding."

Originally Published in the Pembroke Daily Observer, Pembroke, Ontario  - Thurs., June 12, 2008

Visit the website at:  http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/

FIRST CONVOCATING CLASS OF BScN PROGRAM:
Erin Brine, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program graduate, was the Valedictorian representing all graduating students of Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley at the Convocation ceremony held in May 2008. 

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program is a degree program in collaboration with the University of Ottawa.  BScN graduates may attend two ceremonies--one at Algonquin College in Pembroke and the other at the University of Ottawa convocation in Ottawa.

Erin was one of 11 students from the first graduating class of the four-year BScN program.

Presenting her with a Valediction plaque is Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community & Student Affairs at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley.

Transplant pioneer visits Pembroke                            Back to Top^

By ANTHONY DIXON, Pembroke Daily Observer

PEMBROKE, ON – March 28, 2008 - World famous transplant specialist Dr. Tom Todd of Almonte, delivered a trio of inspiring messages during a visit to the city Thursday.

While Dr. Todd is best known as one of the surgeons involved in the first successful  lung transplant in the world performed at Toronto General Hospital in November 1983, he is also known as the doctor who loved riding shotgun in police cars with lights and siren blasting, weaving through traffic in a desperate race to get the precious cargo of transplantable human organs to the operating room on time.

Now semi-retired, Dr. Todd has written a book titled 'Breathless: A Transplant Surgeon's Journal.' As the title suggests, the book is about his decades-long career as a transplant surgeon.

Louise Edmonds, a professor in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley, helped bring Dr. Todd to the city where he took part in a luncheon and book-signing at Wesley United Church, a lecture to BScN  students at Algonquin College and a reception with the local medical community at the Pembroke Regional Hospital.

"I was really thrilled when Dr. Todd said he would come to Pembroke and speak," said Ms. Edmonds. "I read an article in the (newspaper) about him when his book was first published and found out he was from Almonte. I thought, that's not very far away, so I just called him up and asked if he would speak to our BScN students up here and he said 'yes' right away," she said.

At book signings held both after his public noon-hour speech and his address at the college, Dr. Todd donated $8 from every book sold to a bursary for a local nursing student.

Paul Petrokov is a first year nursing student at the college who formally thanked Dr. Todd for visiting the city and the college. The moment was a special one for Mr. Petrokov, as he has a medical tie to Dr. Todd. "I had lung surgery at Toronto General in 2000 where Dr. Todd practiced. My surgery was done by Dr. Todd's colleague. In fact, my personal experience from my surgery is what prompted me to enter the field of medicine," Mr. Petrokov said.

Dr. Todd's list of accomplishments is truly impressive.  He, along with a team of specialists at Toronto General, performed the first successful lung transplant in the world in 1983. In 1986 he followed that up with the world's first successful double lung transplant. Dr. Todd remarked that by 1989, 22 lung transplants had been performed at the hospital. Over the years, that total continued to climb except for a blip in the mid-90's when a lack of funding support hurt the program.   In 2007, 100 transplants were performed.

Laurentian Valley resident Esther Gaudet worked as an intensive care nurse at Toronto General Hospital from 1979 until 1989. She did post-operative care on many of the transplant patients while they were in ICU.

"Working with Dr. Todd and the team of transplant surgeons was very exciting but difficult and stressful work, since the patients were so very ill and the techniques sometimes untried. Seeing Dr. Todd and hearing his talk today brought back many great memories. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to hear him speak," Ms. Gaudet said.

Dr. Todd also told the group of about 75 people that attended the luncheon, that recovery times for transplant patients has dropped dramatically over the years while anti-rejection drugs have greatly improved. Where once transplant patients were in the ICU for weeks, today it is often only a couple of days. In his lecture at the college, Dr. Todd addressed the issue of medical ethics, particularly as it relates to the factors that go into wait list criteria for organ transplants.  

Ms. Edmonds remarked that not one student left during the session and Dr. Todd stayed and talked an extra half-hour above his scheduled two-hour block. Following that, Dr. Todd remained at the college to sign copies of his book before heading over to the hospital reception.

"He was so very generous with his time to Pembroke. He was wonderful. The students were very impressed with his compassion and how well he knew each patient that he had worked with. He was so committed to them. His duty of care is very strong," Ms. Edmonds said.

STUDENTS INSPIRED - Algonquin College BScN students Ambaro Olol, right, and Paul Petrokov, above, welcomed and thanked Dr. Tom Todd, after his lecture and book signing at Wesley United Church hall on March 27th.

Following the luncheon, Dr. Todd visited the BScN Program at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley.  Dr. Todd, front row, centre, is surrounded by BScN students after his lecture regarding the issues and ethics of transplants.  He was guest lecturer in the course "Philosophical Issues in Health Care"  taught by Louise Edmonds.

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For more information about the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program, contact Jamie Bramburger at 613-735-4700, ext. 2712 or email:  brambuj@algonquincollege.com

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