What started as a vacation visit to the territory in the summer of 1998 has turned into a long and fulfilling career in continuing care. Today Melinda is a licensed practical nurse. She works with the Government of Yukon’s Quality and Safety team within the Department of Health and Social Services in a role that includes training and teaching.
Melinda says she enjoys the wider scope of practice the Yukon allows as well as interaction and problem-solving with her team. Let’s learn about Melinda’s career and her role with the Government of Yukon.
Could you introduce yourself and what you do?
I am a licensed practical nurse. I work for Continuing Care and my official title is clinical RAI coordinator. What that means is I work a lot with instructing employees within Continuing Care to understand our resident assessment instrument (RAI). This instrument is how we take all of our charting, all of our documentation – and we come up with one single assessment representing a resident as a whole and their needs.
Currently, we are standing in the training room used by Continuing Care in downtown Whitehorse. In this location, we do the Gentle Persuasive Approach training that's mandatory for all staff. We also do PIECES training, safety skills and more. This is also where all the staff review the best lifting techniques, how to transfer residents safely and things like that. People may not realize the Government of Yukon offers a lot of training in-house. You don't have to worry about trying to get a course online or having to travel outside the territory for education, we offer so many courses right here.
What do you like about your work?
Right now, the best part of this role is when I have this classroom setting full of staff from different facilities and different units. It’s a chance for staff to come together and chat about their daily experiences and hopefully walk away with a bit more knowledge that they can use them to provide better care for their residents. I really enjoy my position. I have worked more than 27 years with continuing care. And there's never been a dull moment.
Congratulations on the years of service! Can you take us back to how you started in the Yukon?
Thank you! I started nursing as an aide in Saskatchewan in May 1992 so I am now in my 33rd year of nursing. I came up to the Yukon to visit my sister on vacation. It was the summer of 1998. She introduced me to my husband. So, 3 children and 27 years later I am still here and we’re still going strong. As a matter of fact, when my parents retired, they moved up to the Yukon. That was kind of a no-brainer because all the grandchildren were up here. It's been amazing. I don't regret a single minute working for Continuing Care.
You have pursued your education while working, could you tell us about that?
I have been fortunate enough to have Continuing Care help support my education. Not just my licensed practical nurse degree but also my geriatric certification. That support made it much more accessible while trying to balance my family, my kids, my work and my education. Certainly, if you have an interest in furthering your own, professional development, there is support there for you.
What advice might you have for someone considering a career here?
I like the challenge in what people call the expanded scope of practice. Because the Yukon is so small we do not have the specialty teams that might be available in larger centres. That means, as an LPN or team lead on the floor, you’ll find yourself doing just about everything. As we say, people wear many hats. I like that because the work is more general in scope. It means you’re going to use a lot more of your skills. Also, Continuing Care is more diverse than people might expect. On any given shift on a floor, you can work with people from all across the country, from all parts of the world. Working here has certainly been a very multicultural and diverse experience.
For me, it's been so interesting to watch Continuing Care grow up over the decades and seeing different people come north: Either for that northern experience, looking for adventure, or because healthcare at home isn't quite what they had hoped for. I really like our team. There are around 28 or 30 people who work in this particular location. And you have so many people from different aspects of health care. And I love the camaraderie. It’s a very welcoming team and we work together to problem-solve.