Nursing faculty member leads to inspire and aspires to lead
Lead by inspiring others to lead and be the best they can be.
It檚 what Prof. Jill Bruneau aspires to do every day as an instructor in the Faculty of Nursing, whether she is teaching undergraduate nursing students or master檚 level nurse practitioner students, or working with her own research team as part of her PhD in nursing program.
淣ursing is a human science. It檚 intrinsically linked to nursing practice, said Prof. Bruneau, a nurse practitioner with a background in cardiac care.
淲e have to understand all the science related to the human body the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and pathophysiology that influences health but we also consider the health of an individual in context through various theories and lenses, the social, environmental and political influences on their health.
Prof. Bruneau檚 work with cardiac patients at all stages of their illness and recovery is what ultimately led to her PhD research in cardiovascular health promotion.
淚檝e seen a lot of people who had cardiovascular disease and met their families, and saw the impact that it has on someone檚 life, she said. 淪ome of my patients were only in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and seeing the devastation for people so young, I wondered, why can檛 we do something more upstream, for example, to identify risk factors earlier.
Mentors along the way
When the faculty launched a PhD program in 2013, Prof. Bruneau was among the first of four students. Continuing her career as an educator, she wanted to tackle those big questions and develop her own area of research.
淪ince I檝e been in the program I檝e had lots of mentors who檝e inspired me, she said. 淚t檚 exciting to share your ideas, and to have those ideas supported. This is where I needed to be to make a difference.
With research grants from Patient-Oriented Research funding, the Association of and Prof. Bruneau worked with patients and health-care providers such as nurse practitioners (NP) to develop a customized cardiac assessment screening tool.
Implemented by a number of NPs across the province, patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, and she檚 thrilled. She檚 completed her data collection and is now carrying an analysis.
Her career advice to the nursing students she sees every day, and to her own daughter?
淏elieve in your ideas. Do something that inspires you, whatever that is and you檒l excel. Lead to inspire others, and be a mentor.