TouchPoints

Back to Table of Contents GSNA – New Executive Announced We are so delighted to announce the new Graduate Student Nursing Association (GSNA) Executive! We know they will confidently carry the torch forward in an enthusiastic way with the aim of enriching students’ graduate experiences while at UBC School of Nursing. Here are the new GSNA Executives: William Harding (PhD student) – President Caroline Frankfurter (MSN student) – Vice-President Marta Sadkowski (NP student) – Communications Officer Greg Gracey (MSN student) – Events Officer Tracy Leung (MSN student) – Administrative Officer…read more

Back to Table of Contents When the School of Nursing opened in 1919, students at the fledgling University of British Columbia crowded into temporary wooden buildings they called “The Fairview Shacks” – now the site of Vancouver General Hospital. The Great War had stalled the development of the UBC campus but the lack of progress following Armistice led the students to signal their discontent to the BC government, campaigning to have construction continued at Point Grey with a parade we remember as The Great Trek. The Science Building on the…read more

Back to Table of Contents Students in Community – Focus on Wellness Initiatives   Over the course of the term students in the primary health care clinical settings engaged with many community partners in delivering Focus on Wellness Initiatives. A few of these were The Louis Brier Flu Campaign, Hillcrest Community Centre Health Fair, Mental Health Awareness: Beyond the Blues, Union Gospel Mission Foot Soak & Blood Pressure Clinic, and a health information session for residents and staff at Atira Women’s Resource Society. Students had several opportunities to conduct assessments…read more

Back to Table of Contents Nursing Now – The International Year of the Nurse   Nursing Now is a global campaign run under the joint auspices of The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN). WHO has declared the year 2020 as the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife during which the contributions of nurses and midwives will be recognized and celebrated around the world. In preparation for the coming recognition of nursing and midwifery, the UBC School of Nursing helped launch both Nursing…read more

Back to Table of Contents History Repeating – UBC Nursing Receives a Timely and Iconic Gift   Named after the Italian city in which she was born, Florence Nightingale entered the world almost 200 years ago. To celebrate this British social reformer, trailblazing statistician and founder of modern nursing—but also the millions of midwives, registered nurses and nurse practitioners who represent half of the workforce of many countries today—the World Health Organization has declared 2020 the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife.” It is fitting, then, that Helen Shore, Associate…read more

Back to Table of Contents Faculty On the Global Scene – Dr. Sabrina Wong and Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc Share Their Expertise   UBC School of Nursing faculty have long been well-recognized and much sought after as national and international experts consulting on a range of topics in health. In 2019, two of our faculty in particular have contributed to the work of high-profile global organisations. Dr Sabrina Wong is representing Canada on the OECD Patient-Reported Indicators Surveys (PaRIS) Initiative. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which includes 36…read more

Back to Table of Contents Prescription for a Healthy Planet – Act Local Think Global   The human population is healthier than it has ever been before. We’ve seen rising life expectancy and lowering poverty and child mortality rates. But we have also exploited the planet at an unprecedented rate. Carbon dioxide emissions, ocean acidification, and energy use is rising, while fertile farmland, potable water sources, and tropical rainforests are diminishing. So began a presentation by Verena Rossa-Roccor, a PhD student at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health (SPPH)….read more

Back to Table of Contents The Future is Now – A Digital Sampler for Patient-Centered Care Keynote Speaker Dr Richard Booth of Western University, in his presentation at the Marion Woodward Lecture on November 14th, began with some background, taking his audience through the rapid changes in technology over the past 30 years. He showed how our perceptions of what is ordinary—our “baselines”—have been shifted step-by-step. Some people marvel at a telephone that takes pictures and tells us where we left our car, but for the next generation, asking a…read more

Back to Table of Contents Jennifer Kryworuchko – In Memoriam The School of Nursing community — and UBC more broadly — are deeply saddened to share the news that our dear colleague, Associate Professor Jennifer Kryworuchko, passed away Friday, October 25. Despite undergoing treatment for cancer for the last several years, Jennifer’s passing was, for many of us, unexpected. Comforted and supported by her family including husband, Marko Kryworuchko, and children, Kalyna, Maksym, Jakob and Hannah, Jennifer died peacefully. Those of us who knew and worked with Jennifer feel a…read more