In conversation with Andrea Laizner
Andrea Laizner found her calling as a teenager while volunteering as a candy striper on the neurology floor at the Montreal General Hospital. Determined to pursue nursing, she reached out to the Director of Nursing, Isobel MacLeod, who encouraged her to apply to McGill University. That decision led to a lifelong affiliation with McGill and a rewarding 50-year career as a nurse clinician, educator, researcher, and beloved mentor to hundreds of students. Officially retired since October 24, 2025, she proudly retains nil salary faculty appointments at both McGill University and the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
How did your nursing career take shape?
One of the best decisions I ever made was to study nursing at McGill University, where I earned my BScN and master’s degrees. I was so fortunate to be taught by powerhouse nursing leaders such as Margaret Hooton, Mary Ellen Jeans, Flo McKenzie, and Laurie Gottlieb.
While working in psychiatry at the Montreal General Hospital, I had encountered a number of women with postpartum emotional reactions and psychotic episodes. To explore this further, for my master’s clinical research project, I examined the factors contributing to post-partum emotional reactions. This work resulted in my first publication in a research journal.
With my master’s degree in hand, I was recruited by the Montreal General Hospital to help launch a new program funded by the Victorian Order of Nurses for people diagnosed with cancer and treated at specific McGill teaching hospitals. My role was to follow them in the community and in the hospital setting to provide support and ensure they did not fall through the cracks.
Several years after being appointed a faculty lecturer at McGill University, I obtained FRSQ funding to study for my PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, where I was exposed to different perspectives and mentored by faculty whose work aligned with my research interests in distress screening and support for family members of cancer patients. My doctoral thesis focused on understanding the impact of a mother’s breast cancer diagnosis and treatment on family functioning with children at home in Quebec.
What were some of the challenges you encountered as a nurse researcher?
Early in my career, it was difficult for nurse researchers to present projects as a principal investigator because ethics committees expected to hear from physicians. While I did my PhD in the U.S., my actual study was in Quebec and it took me three years to get approval from nine different healthcare institutional ethics committees. It’s a bit easier today, but remains a challenge, which is why I strongly believe that nurses with PhDs need to be at the table as scientists on ethics committees. This is what I did for many years after obtaining my doctoral degree, both at Ste-Justine and at the MUHC.
Other challenges in Quebec include retaining autonomy within our nursing roles, and obtaining funding for nursing research projects. While we managed to convince foundations and government departments to provide opportunities for nurse researchers to compete for funding, there is room for improvement and we can’t let our guard down.
What has your affiliation with McGill University meant to you?
My faculty appointment at McGill opened the door to so many meaningful opportunities and experiences. The synergy between McGill Nursing, its hospital network, and its alumni is an incredible asset. Many McGill nursing graduates joined the staff of McGill’s healthcare and academic institutions, contributing to the advancement of nursing research and clinical practice. And many of them were invited back to lecture or given university teaching appointments. To this day, these networks create incubators of energy and innovation that are hard to replicate elsewhere.
It has been a great privilege to mentor students through the 630 master’s student research and knowledge translation courses, where I brought together clinicians at the MUHC with master’s students and ISoN faculty to work on knowledge creation and applied knowledge translation projects that led to improved processes and better patient care. The McGill approach, threaded throughout all levels and programs, is to help students develop critical thinking skills while challenging them to find solutions to clinical problems.
What are some other highlights of your career?
I’m proud of my association with the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves reaching the rank of Major. My duties included helping to conduct medical exams, motivating recruits to maintain their physical and mental health, counseling around use of alcohol, cigarettes, giving first aid, and managing health care support in the field for militia units training in Valcartier, Quebec. I remain involved with the Canadian Grenadier Guards Foundation and scholarship program, through which we have funded cadets and militia personnel or their family members to pursue healthcare professional training, including nursing.
Being recognized with various honours throughout my career has been gratifying. These include the Award for Educational Excellence from the Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology, the Award for Excellence in Advising/Preceptorship from the Ingram School of Nursing, and the Prix Florence – Recherche en sciences infirmières from the Quebec Order of Nurses.
In 1988-1990, I was involved in convincing Montreal designer Leo Chevalier to design the new uniform for McGill BScN undergraduate nursing students. An adapted version – blue top and slacks – is still in use today.
Finally, it was the thrill of a lifetime to be invited to the National Assembly on February 10, 2026, by Desirée McGraw, MNA for Notre-Dame-de-Grace, who gave a touching tribute and presented me with a certificate recognizing my 50-year nursing career in Quebec. I am grateful to MUHC President and Executive Director Lucie Opatrny and Nursing Director Alain Biron for facilitating this honour.
