Young people in Whitehorse have access to the Youth Outreach Clinic at 211 Hawkins Street.
That’s where Stephanie works as a registered nurse.
Her role is part of the Government of Yukon’s Child Youth and Family Therapeutics Team.
Stephanie works alongside counsellors and outreach workers, bridging the gap between mental health and primary health care.
The clinic is the first of its kind in the Yukon. It’s designed for people aged 12 to 18.
We asked Stephanie about her unique career working with young people.
Could you introduce the Youth Outreach Clinic? What kind of services do you provide?
The goal of the Youth Outreach Clinic is to provide easier access for youth to health care and the medical system. We really focus on high school age youth but we'd love to expand to reach a younger-adult population eventually.
We provide health services and also connect young people to services that already exist.
The goal is to offer a blend of everything. We help youth understand they have the right to access health care, and we provide a safe space where they can ask questions. We want the clinic to be low-barrier and non-judgmental.
I think our setup is great. I'm right across the hall from all the counsellors and it makes collaboration really easy between us.
When do you encourage young people to visit?
Youth can come for any reason at all. That being said our clinic focuses on mental health, questions about sexual health or concerns around substance use. The clinic also provides non-urgent primary care.
Of course, there's lots of areas in which I am not an expert. Part of my role is to help connect young people to experts. That might mean connecting them to a counsellor or working with their family doctor to get them in to see a pediatrician or possibly referring them to the emergency room.
Can a young person come see you without a parent present?
Yes they can. I can see them either here at the clinic, or often in their high school or in another community location. They can get an appointment either through email or texting or calling our phone number.
Our goal is to help the youth navigate that transition from childhood care to adult medical care.
We also have a lot of parents that make appointments on behalf of their kids or perhaps might come in with their kids if, if they have specific questions.
Can you tell us more about your presence in schools?
While my role is mainly at the clinic on Hawkins Street, I am also able to run clinics in high schools in Whitehorse. In the schools I can provide direct clinical care and see youth one-on-one.
In schools we work with other partners in health care.
One example is that perhaps a health promotion coordinator could go in and give a talk on contraception to a class. But later, if a youth is specifically looking to get a prescription for contraception or has direct questions, then they can come and see me directly.
How did you get into this specialty within nursing?
This position was created because the counselors had identified a need for connecting youth that were engaged in counseling services to medical care.
Before joining the Youth Outreach Clinic, I worked in a variety of roles. I worked in remote nursing in Labrador and Nunavut before coming to the Yukon.
Here in the Yukon I have worked in public health at the Whitehorse Health Centre, with Yukon Communicable Disease Control and their sexually transmitted infections program, and I also have spent a few years with the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and their wellness program which was a really wonderful position as well.
I love nursing. It's such a great career for the variety of things you can do.
It lets you really connect with people on a really genuine level.
What do you like about your work?
I love when I get to work directly with youth and give them a chance to feel heard and validated about their health concerns.
Perhaps it's the first time they've ever really opened up about something that they're worried about.
Just helping to create a safe space where they feel welcome and prioritized. Letting them know their health concerns are really important.
That's been incredible.
I am grateful to collaborate with many other folks in the health and youth fields and to be involved in health at a community level.
