The Rekai Centres are recognized for their commitment to creating healthy work environments and providing quality learning opportunities for students. They have a long-standing and positive relationship with York University, supporting undergraduate learning at all levels of the BScN program, including Internationally Educated Nurses (IEN), and investing in preceptor training.

This past fall, the Rekai Centres partnered with York University to create a workshop and provide training for preceptors at their facilities. The event focused on theoretical approaches to teaching-learning, connecting learning opportunities with course goals, addressing the needs and level of the learner, how to provide feedback, how to provide support to learners who are struggling, and strategies for conflict resolution.

Their efforts have been noticed by students saying their preceptor “was supportive, patient in guiding them through during the learning process, and showed them what true compassion and caring looks like in professional practice”.

As an educator, scholar and administrator, Dr. Jennifer Medves has made tremendous contributions to nursing education over the past 25 years.

Dr. Medves has touched the lives of countless nursing students at the undergraduate and graduate level, and contributed to 110 publications and 46 grants. Her scholarship focused on informing both nursing education, such as the use of simulation in nursing education and interprofessional education, and practice, including patient safety.

As Chair of COUPN from 2013 to 2019, Dr. Medves led and mentored her fellow Deans and Directors and was a tireless advocate for quality nursing education during challenging times in Ontario. Her steady leadership was instrumental in navigating changes in the practice environment and program delivery, as well as amplifying the voice of nursing, which contributed significantly to the vision and mission of COUPN.

Her lifetime of contributions, from her beginnings as a nurse and midwife in England, to her role as Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of the School of Nursing at Queen’s University, have made an indelible impact on her colleagues and the profession.

As a member of the Faculty’s Executive Committee, Jessica has demonstrated “leadership ability far beyond what is expected of student leaders in raising equity issues and calling for accountability.” She has worked tirelessly to address anti-Black racism on campus, and recently worked with the Nursing Undergraduate and Graduate Nursing Student societies to launch a month-long speaker series entitled “Black Futures.”

For her committed leadership, Jessica was awarded the prestigious University of Toronto Student Leadership Award earlier this year.

Recognized for inspiring students to advocate for patients, and teaching them how to reflect and develop their professional and personal values, Marla Rose is being acknowledged by her students and colleagues for the effort she puts into finding and creating new learning experiences for students.

Marla exemplifies lifelong learning by working alongside students and continually asking questions to further her own knowledge and understanding, while also helping to develop students’ critical thinking skills. One student shared, “I am truly inspired by her curiosity and her desire to learn. I believe every nurse and health-care provider should hold such humility in their practice. We must strive to better our practice, reflect on our knowledge, and never be afraid to seek help to provide the best care”.
Marla encourages patient-centered care, even on hectic hospital shifts, and motivates those around her to value human dignity above all else.

As a role model to students, she is supportive, compassionate and knowledgeable and is helping create a new generation of passionate nursing students.

Through a series of impactful publications and presentations exploring the intersection of health human resources, nursing practice and quantitative methods, Dr. Amanda McIntyre is being recognized as a “rising star” and celebrated nursing researcher.

Of note, her study on patient-reported reasons for attending the emergency department, one of few large-scale data-driven studies through COVID-19, will have significant policy and practice implications. Her data linkage of patient surveys with clinical records and medical records has been described as “unprecedented.”

Additionally, Dr. McIntyre stretched her CIHR Vanier funded thesis into three high-quality studies, all while working clinically as an emergency department nurse, acting as a Senior Research Fellow in a rehabilitation research lab, and mentoring other graduate students at the masters and PhD level.

Dr. McIntyre completed her PhD in fall 2022 and currently holds a tenure track position as an Assistant Professor at Western University.

As an undergraduate nursing student, Leo Macawile has demonstrated academic success, kind and compassionate care, and positive leadership attributes. He works hard for success and collaborates well with others, establishing a sense of connectedness, resourcefulness, purpose and academic culture among his peers. He is also a strong advocate for others and the overall future of the nursing profession.

Leo takes every opportunity to spearhead or participate in events that celebrate nursing, leadership, community and diversity. Some of his many achievements include, creating the ‘Walk with Prof’ initiative to encourage connections between students and faculty, organizing celebrations during Asian Heritage Month, and moderating a Virtual Escape Room designed to help nursing students develop study skills and learning strategies.

Leo is currently the President of the Nursing Students Association of York University (NSAY). In this role, Leo initiated Canada’s first and largest student-led Filipino Nurses Recognition Month to recognize Filipino nurses and nursing students’ challenges and the structural racism that contributes to the underrepresentation of Filipinos in academic and leadership roles.

By teaching in a way that encourages students to critically engage with course content while also creating a safe space to challenge the status quo, Dr. Jean-Laurent Domingue has made an important contribution to the quality of nursing education at the University of Ottawa at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

His approach to teaching includes being flexible to match student needs and keeping positive learning environments. Dr. Domingue uses various educational modalities to help foster greater learning, and includes real-life examples to help students develop a deeper understanding.

He is deeply committed to nursing education, as evidenced through his participation on the Undergraduate Program Collaboration Committee, which provides curricular leadership for the program. He is also committed to his membership on a team of educators from three francophone universities that is developing a new undergraduate course entitled “Practique infirmière contemporaine”.

Dr. Domingue is committed to student well-being and ensures each individual feels valued, supported and encouraged in their academic pursuits. His enthusiasm for teaching and his own continued learning is contagious and inspires students to take ownership of their own education and professional and academic development.

Jaimeson Canie is an exceptional student with a passion for causes of social justice, especially health equity and anti-racism work, and has a particular skillset in understanding structural factors that influence health and well-being.

Since completing her thesis in October 2022, which focused on the need to build long-lasting relationships with members of the African Caribbean and Black communities in London, Ontario, she has been working to ensure that her findings are shared back with research participants, and is working to support implementing her proposed engagement framework.

Jaimeson is an emerging leader who is taking every opportunity available to expand her clinical, teaching and research skills. She is committed to lifelong education and views her research activities as both stand-alone contributions, as well as a way to deepen and apply her nursing knowledge in practice. She is currently working as a forensic mental health nurse.

As Canada’s first Pediatric Allergy Nurse Practitioner in the Pediatric Respirology and Allergy Clinic at McMaster Children’s Hospital, Alvin Gutierrez has been an enthusiastic and dedicated preceptor to numerous Nurse Practitioner students at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto.

The students he has precepted value his compassionate and holistic approach, his dedication to providing quality learning experiences, and his empathy and supportive demeanor toward patients and families.

Alvin is known to identify students’ challenges and provide additional resources that suit their learning style to complement their placement. He advocates for learning opportunities for students to observe, and his constructive feedback is always strength-based with clear examples on what could be improved upon.

He has demonstrated how access to a Nurse Practitioner can make a difference in a client’s health care experience.

Alvin goes above and beyond, and is dedicated and committed to the nursing profession in every aspect of his work.

As a Registered Nurse and Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa, Dr. Sandra Harrisson’s innovative approach to research has allowed a rethinking of interdisciplinary work that recognizes the potential of all health members to contribute to the quality of life of residents in seniors’ care facilities and those receiving home care. This includes completing the “Enhancing Quality of Life for People with Memory Impairment and their Families” (EQOL) project in 2017, and designing the “Pleasure Approach to Services and Care” (PASC). Her team is now completing the implementation phase of the program, both virtually and in person, with French and English-speaking community settings in Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Dr. Harrisson has also developed her own research program, guiding graduate students to always bring the process of acquiring new knowledge back to concrete examples rooted in nursing practice. She has developed the “Pleasurable Moment Enhancing Approach”, which has allowed her to innovatively reflect on accompanying elderly people with cognitive losses, a concept currently being implemented in several care centres and in the process of being theorized.