Jennifer Gill is the current Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Licensed Practical Nurses Association of BC. A recent (2015) grad from the new PN curriculum, Jennifer gained employment experience in acute care units as a casual in medicine, surgical, acute care for elderly (ACE) and nephrology. She is currently working in Corrections and is thrilled to have realized her nursing goal so early in her career, particularly when so many other LPN graduates in the province are struggling to find their path.
Throughout her schooling, Jennifer was a strong advocate for the LPN role, was a peer spokesperson and sat on a number of different councils. She became involved in the LPNABC as a PN Student and has remained involved in advocacy for LPNs across by sitting on the LPNABC Board.
We had an opportunity to sit down with Jennifer in September 2016, and hear some of her thoughts on the profession.
In your opinion, what is a nurse? A nurse is a caring, nurturing person with professional training who is able to look at an individual as a whole and assess them within the domains of holistic nursing. Nurses develop a plan of care based on what an individual needs and help them navigate the system to ensure their needs are met. If the health care system is like a car, nursing is the “engine” that makes the vehicle run.
What are you most proud of? I am proud of my education and my focus on communications. I recognize how important it is to take the time to listen to my patients/clients, distinguishing them as a person who needs me to take the time to communicate, to hear and to listen. Those extra minutes of listening can make such a difference in a patient’s/client’s outcome. I am proud to be a nurse that has standards of practice holding me accountable to advocate for my patients/clients. It’s important that I can demonstrate to my patients/clients that they are being cared for and that I see them as a “whole” person, not just a task. I love being a problem solver and activist in change. I love my profession where I can make a difference in a person’s life. If I can get a smile once each shift from my patient/client then I know they will have a better outcome, and I have done my job.
What do you hope for when you think about LPNs in B.C.? I would describe myself as an energetic, compassionate and caring person. I strongly believe that LPNs need to be better understood and optimized in B.C., and I’m honoured to have the opportunity to demonstrate my leadership competencies through advocacy and my role within LPNABC. I worked hard to achieve my education, and I hope I can help the profession move forward to be fully utilized. I know that LPNs working to their full capacity are needed – I’ve seen that in every setting I’ve worked in so far. Sometimes I worry that I’m already forgetting what I’ve learned, because my skills are not fully utilized, and I have to ask myself, why are we not using this knowledge?