The Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare Advisory Board*, which organizes a visiting Scholar-in-Residence at the Ingram School of Nursing each year, was pleased to extend an invitation to Pam Hubley, Vice President & Chief Nurse Executive of University Health Network in Toronto. Pam’s two-day Scholar-in-Residence focused on implementing SBNH and SBNH Leadership across educational and care settings. During her residence, Pam consulted widely with leadership and faculty at ISoN, and with nursing leaders and clinicians from the Jewish General Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital Centre, and the McGill University Health Centre. Her residence culminated in an engaging public lecture at the Jewish General Hospital entitled “Why we need nurses to speak up now” which was delivered to over 180 attendees.
“Why we need nurses to speak up now”
During her public lecture, Pam highlighted the pressing need to shift work environments to retain nurses. She emphasized the important role that nurses can play to speak up for positive change. Pam encouraged nurses to reflect on what nursing work truly entails, so that they can effectively communicate the value and importance of their work to others and advocate for the nursing profession. She highlighted that in the current context and reality as we emerge from three years of a world-wide pandemic, there has never been a better time to embrace an SBNH mindset and move forward together in a way that is supportive and productive.
The Scholar-in-Residence also highlighted the actions that we can take for ourselves and others to contribute to healthier work environments. Pam discussed the importance of attending to our health, well-being, and boundaries as persons and professionals during these challenging times. She also stressed the importance of developing a learner mindset to advance lessons learned from the pandemic, to cultivate personal growth, and to stimulate our energy and passions.
Throughout her lecture, Pam noted how an SBNH approach can guide us in speaking up for and creating healthier work environments and engaged the audience in self-reflective activities.
Large scale implementation of SBNH
In addition to the public lecture, Pam met with ISoN faculty and clinical partners to learn about their SBNH and SBNH-L initiatives and to share her experiences. As former Chief of Nursing at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Pam championed the implementation of SBNH and has been a key partner in the development of SBNH Leadership.
Over the course of her residency, she discussed potential challenges and strategies for implementing SBNH, as well as ways to promote and sustain the approach. Topics of meetings and consultation included SBNH Leadership, the integration of the approach across education and practice, story-sharing on large scale implementation within a healthcare network, and the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion. Throughout her visit, Pam provided valuable insights and guidance on how to successfully implement SBNH and facilitate positive change.
Pam’s visit was a tremendous success. Her time here serves as a testament to the power of collaboration and knowledge-sharing in advancing Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare.
*SBNH Advisory Board members: Laurie Gottlieb (co-chair), Heather Hart (co-chair) Annie Chevrier, Christina Clausen, John Kayser, Josée Lizotte, Judith Lapierre, Maria Di Feo, Rosetta Antonacci, Tina Gelsomini, Tracey Lang.