Suzanne Madore, Health Sciences Award

Executive Vice President, Chief Clinical Officer and Chief
Nursing Officer – The Ottawa Hospital
Nursing, 1990

As long as Suzanne Madore can remember, she wanted to be in nursing.

A look back at a childhood journal shows that from the time she could write; her ambition was to be a nurse.

“Not formal leadership specifically, but nursing absolutely,” she said.

She couldn’t have known then she would rise to the heights she has – Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Executive at The Ottawa Hospital.

Madore fulfilled her childhood ambition and the hopes and dreams of her grandmother too when she graduated from Algonquin College’s Practical Nursing program in 1990.

“I grew up with my grandmother wanting a nurse in the family. I think it was a missed calling for her,” Madore quipped.

When she was doing her clinical placements at what would become the Pembroke Regional Hospital, Madore had her sights set on being a bedside nurse.

She never really once thought back then about a leadership position or thought about people who were in leadership positions

“It wasn’t ‘boy I want to be one of those people’,” she said. “It was more about providing care to patients.”

The opportunities that nursing afforded were boundless, Madore remembers when she set out on her career.

“The world was my oyster,” she said. “I was going to explore the world in nursing.”

She credits her teachers for preparing her to make that transition from the classroom to the front line.

“The teachers were really just the best. I just can’t say enough. I didn’t have one bad experience. In fact, in all of my three years at Algonquin College in nursing, I did not have one bad or negative experience whether it was in clinical placement or whether it was in theory or classroom. They were all super, super people. They did a great job.

“It was that belief in me. I never once doubted myself based on what the teachers saw in me. That’s what I mean by no negative experience. They pushed you through it. They wanted you to succeed. It makes all the difference in the world when people believe in you.”

Madore singled out one teacher – Gisele Shields – that was a guiding light.

“She was one of my favourites. I used to think she is so bright and kind. Mrs. Shields was just a genuinely nice person, but on top of that, professional at the same time. I just remember she drew me to her, and I just thought she was a wonderful woman. I thought she was exactly what I wanted to be as a nurse.”

More than 30 years ago when she graduated at the top of her class, Madore says, nursing meant caring for patients, putting patients first.

It was as simple as giving a back rub, tucking the sheets in, or simply sitting at the bedside and just listening.

Unfortunately, she muses, today’s nurses don’t have the time.

“Even if they had the time, I’m not so sure that the importance of those little things is recognized today,” said Madore, pointing out now the profession is much more fast paced, pushed by technological advances.

“We can’t lose sight of the importance of conversation. The listening. The communication. You know, the touching somebody’s hand, giving a backrub, this type of thing.”

While Madore says some of those basics have been lost, nurses today have to be much more skilled to keep pace with ever changing technological advances.

She stresses not all change is bad, noting the healthcare world has changed a lot for the good as well.

Even in terms of leadership style, she adds, much has needed to change. The skillset and the abilities needed to lead teams pre- and post-pandemic look very different.

“Today you have to be creative, you have to be innovative, you have to be resilient, you have to be agile,” she said, arguing those traits may have always been required in leaders, “but those were not the predominant areas for the focus of leadership.”

Madore finds herself working very hard to motivate her charges as well “and be positive despite the circumstances.”

“Not to the point you are Pollyanna,” she said. “You also have to be real. Transparency is key. There were so much missed opportunities for communication and transparency during the pandemic because we were always reacting.”

Transparency, honesty, and authenticity when communicating is key today, she said. Also important, Madore added, is to be innovative and creative.

“Sometimes that means taking risks, risks that may or may not pan out,” she said.

She remains enthusiastic about the future of nursing, assuring young people contemplating pursuing studies in this area “there is no other profession like it that affords the magnitude of opportunities that are available.

“On the front line you can do everything from working with geriatric patients to critical care, the emergency department and on and on and on.”

There are different sectors too, such as community-based and specialized care. There are also academic pursuits (teaching), a leadership path, and research.

“It is a profession unlike any other. But you have to have a passion. I think it has to be imbedded in you and you have to have a passion for that because it’s not for the faint of heart. It’s not easy. So, it’s that passion that’s going to drive you and keep you here,” said Madore.

Entering the twilight of her career, having spent 33 years at the bedside, on the front lines and in the corporate offices, Madore says she was thrilled to learn Algonquin College was honouring her with the Alumni of Distinction Award in Health Sciences and a nominee for a Premier’s Award in the same category.

“To be honest, I was shocked,” she said. “I am in the position I am, but I am actually an introvert. I don’t really like putting myself out there. At first, I was honoured and then certainly a little bit humbled but more in shock.”

She is always reflecting on her beginnings and where she came from and how she got to where she is, never setting out to leave the bedside for the boardroom.

“I’m not someone who aspired to be where I am today. So, I am always forgetting that being COO and Chief Nursing Executive of a large tertiary care centre is pretty impressive. That’s not who I think I am.

“Even to be considered for this award, like I said, I am just shocked that I would win something like this. I look at it like there is all this competition out there and how did I make it.”

Madore has one piece of advice for this year’s nursing graduates.

“Be open to the possibilities. I think too often we don’t see what is before us and we are always worried about what’s the long game. I think you have to take advantage of all the opportunities you are afforded, whatever it might be. Just live the experience.”