Lynn received her Bachelor of Nursing Science in 1975 from Queen’s University, her Masters from UVic in 1997 (with a thesis on the Palliative Performance Scale), and was certified as a hospice palliative care nurse in 2005 with recertification in 2009.  She has worked as a nurse in Ottawa, Whitehorse, Nanaimo and Victoria in various nursing capacities:  unit nurse, hospice nurse, clinical resource nurse, clinical nurse specialist, and practice leader, practicing mostly in the areas of palliative care and older adult care. Lynn has also taught as a sessional instructor at UVic and created then revised the curriculum for Nursing 481, our palliative nursing course. Lynn has also been committed to research, service, and knowledge transfer, participating in many committees, publishing findings, presenting in classrooms and at conferences, and taking leadership roles in many research projects, particularly those with a focus on ethics, palliative and older adult care, and the research-practice partnership.  Her curriculum vitae is so rich in examples of these endeavours that it was difficult to pick an example.  However, her work on harmonizing the ethics review process is noteworthy: She has served as a VIHA research ethics reviewer since 2006 and in 2009 assumed the roles of Chair of the Health Research Ethics Board (HREB) and Co-Chair of UVIC/VIHA Joint Research Ethics Committee. Lynn represents VIHA on the British Columbia Research Ethics Harmonization Initiative and is working diligently to bring about a province-wide ethics harmonization process that will attract researchers to BC for multisite research projects. Lynn’s commitment to ethics extends to the clinical side as well and she serves on VIHA’s Ethics Committee, and is a member of the Clinical Ethics Resource Team.

 Lynn’s background and experience have ensured that her gift for developing and sustaining relationships with individuals representing disparate institutions have led to partnerships that bridge practice and research.  Lynn is to be congratulated for making a difference in healthcare across institutions. Her accomplishments and contributions over nearly four decades of nursing embody the true spirit and spark of the UVIC Nursing Alumni Award of Excellence and make her richly deserving of this honor. 

In May 2012 the School of Nursing presented the sixth Alumni Award of Excellence to Lorine Scott

Lorine was in UVic’s first cohort of nurse practitioner students where she emerged as spokesperson, sharing the group’s concerns respectfully which prompted revisions to the NP curriculum.

After graduating Lorine was among the first NPs in the Province, beginning in BC Children’s hospital Cleft Palate/Craniofacial Program. Since 2007, she has taken the lead in the Social Paediatrics Initiative, providing outreach primary health care services in Vancouver’s downtown eastside.

Lorine is a founding member, and fir (and current) president of the BC Nurse Practitioners’ Association, the official voice of NPs in BC. Lorine is a practitioner, a researcher, an author, a speaker, and a leader of the highest caliber. Throughout her career, Lorine has steadfastly stood for equity and social justice.

Several people were recognized at the School of Nursing Annual Alumni event, held May 10th, 2012 in celebration of National Nursing Week. The guest speaker was Dr. Laurene Sheilds  who gave an overview of her research:  Symbols of living in-between: Re-stor(y)ing life within life-threatening illness.

In May 2011 the School of Nursing presented the fifth Alumni Award of Excellence to Deanna Hutchings

Deanna’s significant contributions to the field of palliative/hospice care combined with her commitment to education, leadership, and scholarship make her a well rounded and worthy beneficiary of this award.  Deanna is the Clinical Nurse Specialist in End of Life Care for VIHA and in her long nursing career has served in many practice, leadership, teaching, writing, and research roles.   Caring, compassionate, passionate about research and practice, and innovative in every new employment setting, Deanna is a truly multifaceted and multitalented nurse.  Two of Deanna’s key accomplishments illustrate these qualities. First, during her years as a Clinical Resource Nurse, Deanna initiated weekly interprofessional rounds that became an integral means of communication and care planning and continued to be practiced after she left her CRN position. Second, Deanna was the founding coordinator of the Undergraduate Nurse Employment Program in VIHA (now the Employed Student Nurse Program).  Deanna helped to grow this successful program from 25 to 250 students in four years. These are just two of many valuable contributions Deanna has made to nursing in Victoria.  Nominator Betty Davies claims Deanna’s work blends “science and soul,” a fitting description of her exemplary career.  We are honoured to call Deanna Hutchings a University of Victoria School of Nursing alumna of excellence.

 

In May 2010 the School of Nursing presented the fourth Alumni Award of Excellence to Sonya Gracey Chandler

The award was presented at an Alumni Luncheon to commemorate National Nursing Week (May 10–16) May 12th at the University Club. Chandler was elected to Victoria city council in 2005 and is currently serving a second term. She works with the Victoria Youth Clinic, an interdisciplinary medical clinic for high-risk, street-involved youth, and with the YW-YMCA of Victoria supporting women who are pregnant and parenting in vulnerable situations. She is a breastfeeding advocate and was instrumental in the development of the Small Steps edible landscape garden at city hall where the harvested food is provided to Our Place drop-in centre for the homeless.

On May 15, 2009 the School of Nursing presented the third Alumni Award of Excellence to Robert Calnan

Rob Calnan is an ambassador for nursing.  Mr Calnan, a graduate of the University of Victoria School of Nursing post-diploma BSN program, 1987, has contributed significantly not only to health care in Canada and abroad but also to the nursing profession. As President of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA), and Canada’s Representative to the International Council of Nursing (ICN), with others, Mr Calnan secured $5 million funding through CIDA for partnership work with 7 countries in South Africa for HIV/AIDS education and professional organization development, and secured another $8.9 million of funding through the Primary Health Care Transition Fund for the Canadian Nurse Practitioner Initiative. He is respected for his effectiveness in working with policy makers in health care, government, and with the public on behalf of the profession. Not only is Mr Calnan effective in grand arenas, but when he presents on his work to student nurses his passion for nursing is contagious. Thus, Mr Calnan is an inspiration to nurses young and old, and to nurses across diverse settings. As a nurse valued by the media as spokesperson, Mr Calnan inspires public confidence in nursing. Thus, we are delighted to celebrate the acomplishments of Mr Calnan, a dynamic, uplifting member of our Victoria nursing community.  

On May 15, 2008 the School of Nursing presented the second Alumni Award of Excellence to Geri Hinton

On November 9, 2006 the School of Nursing Inaugural Alumni Award of Excellence presented to Darlene McGougan

This amazing woman graduated with her BSN in 1998. Of her many accomplishments, Darlene is Manager of Nursing for Aboriginal Health at the Vancouver Island Health Authority and has stayed involved with the School of Nursing by working with students in her practice settings and by inspiring them with her classroom presentations and working on course development. She is a founding member, and works tirelessly for, the Aboriginal Access Committee, formed in 2001 to facilitate access to the nursing profession for Aboriginal applicants. It is partly through Darlene's efforts and influence that the BSN program and the university will be a more welcoming and culturally safe place for Aboriginal nursing students to experience. Darlene also represented VIHA in the UVic VPAC sponsored role model video Nursing! The Difference is You which features nurses working in the Coast Salish, Kwakwakawako and Nuuchahnulth Communities on Vancouver Island, to inspire Aboriginal youth to consider a career in nursing. She is also a member of the Learning Circles to Support Aboriginal Nursing, and is very active in the Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada. Darlene upholds the values of social justice and is a truly remarkable example of how UVic alumni make a difference to families, communities, and the wider society. Congratulations Darlene!