Let's continue our series of meetings with staff from across the Government of Yukon's Department of Health and Social Services.
Today we meet Leah who is a primary health care nurse in Old Crow. Leah used to work in a busy downtown emergency room in Toronto. 3 years ago, she began working in the Yukon through an agency. She learned what it's like working in small health centres throughout the territory and that experience led to her joining the Government of Yukon. She performs a wide variety of healthcare tasks, working for 5 weeks at a time. In this Q&A, Leah speaks about her career change, her impressions of the new Old Crow Health Centre and what it's like working in a tight-knit community. Let's meet Leah and learn more about her role with the Government of Yukon!
What do you like about working in Old Crow?
I love the community. I love the folks. I love that they can come in and they know my name, and I know their names. I know the families, kids and the grandmothers, and I know the problems. It's a small community so you get close to people. Working in a big-city emergency department – I never had that. Here in Old Crow, I've never had anybody swear at me. They've all been very kind, very nice. Nobody's been abusive or violent. And I can't say that about the big city!
Plus I like the fact that you can work on your own. Your scope of practice is expanded. I still have a learning curve and I'm still learning. So that's what's exciting about working here.
We’re in the new Old Crow Health and Wellness Centre which just opened. What it like working here?
It is amazing and we love it! For now, we're just learning. Recently, I pressed the “help” button as part of testing and everyone came running. “What are those lights going off?” We do quality assurance on things every single day. It has been a challenge getting set up because there’s always something going on. But it’s very nice. We can tell they've really worked hard to make it an attractive place for nurses to come and stay.
What are the challenges of working in Old Crow?
Oh, it's always a challenge. Every time I come up I go, “Okay, it's going to be a quieter time this time…” but there’s always something going on. During my last rotation, there was a birth and a death. And it does hit you. It really does hit you. You know, as a nurse in a big-city emergency room I faced death all the time, right? But when somebody dies here, it hits you hard because you know them. You know the family. It's a whole different ballgame.
From Toronto to Old Crow. What a change! Can you tell us more about that?
This really has been a magnificent experience. After I worked in emergency, I worked in a women’s detox in Toronto. It was the best job I ever had. I loved it. But the driving on the highway! 2 hours to work… 2.5 hours home. Around 2020, I was in 3 collisions in one year in the car. After that, I retired.
Retirement lasted 6 months. I thought about coming back and saw a job for the Yukon. At first I thought “who do I think I am?” but I tried it. And it turned out to be the best job I ever had! I'm kind of sorry that I didn't do it 10 years earlier.