Conferences

The Canadian Association of Continuing Care Educators (CACCE)

Annual Conference
May 28-30, 2014, Vancouver, British Columbia
Transforming Teaching and Learning: Unlocking Potential
I had the opportunity to attend this conference with my Coordinator of
the Personal Support Worker (PSW) Program. This conference was a
wonderful way for me to connect with Coordinators and Faculty of PSW
programs across Canada. The sessions were so valuable to me as I
had the opportunity to learn about the commonalities of many of the
PSW students we meet in our programs. Some of the topics discussed
included the label of disability and what it means for students to
learn differently, the partnership between one college in Nova Scotia
and The Cancer Society in developing a palliative care program, the
flipped classroom where a faculty member applied the strategy of
SoftChalk & Canvas, and my personal favourite, the relationship
between story telling and meeting learning outcomes in the PSW
curriculum. There were other sessions as well, however, could not
attend them all. My Coordinator and I tried to attend opposite sessions
so we could share together afterwards. Much of what I learned at this
conference, I have been able to consider for future teaching and some
of the information I presently apply in my teaching of both PSW and
Practical Nursing (PN) students. After this conference I took the
opportunity to refIect upon how privileged I am to work in an
environment where I could attend a conference out of province that
was paid for in order to promote my professional development as a
teacher. I am very fortunate to be able to be a Faculty Member of the
School of Health Sciences at Humber College!

Personal Support Network of Ontario (PSNO) Annual Conference

October 23, 2013, Markham, Ontario
Supporting Personal Support Workers
This was a one-day conference where I learned more about the role of
the Personal Support Network of Ontario (PSNO) and how this
organization supports Personal Support Workers (PSW), particularly
those who work in community settings across all parts of Ontario. A
well known gerontologist in Toronto, who still believes in making house
calls to the elderly who still live in their homes, spoke so highly of the

role of PSWs and how they positively influence the care of our elders.
This doctor made all of the PSWs in the room feel so valued for all that
they do as his stories were so heartwarming. I could not get back to
my PSW students fast enough during that week to share my
experience at this conference. I felt encouraged to make my PSW
students aware of this organization and that they should attend this
annual conference once they became PSWs upon completion of their
program. It was a privilege to attend this conference.

Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (RPNAO) Annual

Conference
October 3-4, 2013, Vaughan, Ontario
Putting Knowledge and Compassion into Action
I enjoyed attending this conference as it provided relevance of the role
of the Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) in the healthcare setting of
todays world. The keynote speaker, Sophie Gregoire, (Justin Trudeaus
wife), shared her stories about her mother who is now a retired nurse
as well as her own story about what it was like to be a patient being
cared for by nurses. Sophie commented about how important and
special it was to have therapeutic relationships with the nurses and
how the nurses were instrumental in helping her to recover from her
eating disorder. Her story was very moving and it was so good to hear
a positive story about nurses who were caring and compassionate! To
teach students how to be caring and compassionate has its
challenges, however, I believe students need to be aware of its
importance in providing care as nursing is more than a job. I feel
that sharing stories with my students enables me to see who has that
compassion and ability to care. Other topics discussed were the areas
that RPNs are now working, no longer always long-term care. The
scope of practice for RPNs has grown and I believe this makes nursing
exciting for RPNs as they can strive to go further in their role and in
their education. Best Practices for RPNs were also shared particularly
where collaboration with other healthcare team members was
concerned. Collaborative care is content we discuss in our practical
nursing program so I found this information relevant and necessary to
share with my students upon my return to the classroom. The final
topic, new to me in my nursing experience, was the session regarding
huddles. This is a new intervention being tried in many hospital
settings where after a few hours in to the shift, all staff, regardless of
status, meet in a quiet area of the hall and debrief about how their shift
is going, where there are concerns, and who needs help. This
communication technique keeps everyone aware of the happenings of

the unit and the status of both patients and staff members. I was
thrilled to hear about this new concept as it was long overdue. The
huddle is also very good in promoting safe optimum care for all. I was
anxious to share this process with my Practical Nursing (PN) students
when I returned to my classes with them.