You may have heard of services called ‘detox’ before.
Professionally these are called “withdrawal management,” a more accurate term that reflects the full range of support available for people dealing with addiction, substance use and mental health challenges.
Jeannie is a licensed practical nurse in Whitehorse. Her journey into nursing was a natural extension of a lifelong love of people and caregiving.
Jeannie graduated from a 2-year LPN program in Ontario in 2017.
She made the leap north right after graduation.
Now has close to 10 years of experience in the Yukon. Most of her work has been in mental health, substance use and addiction, mainly in withdrawal management.
Early in her career, she worked with a senior nurse who helped her build not just clinical skills, but also the people skills needed for this work.
Early in her career she was paired with a senior nurse whose mentorship helped her grow not only clinical skills, but the relational and psychosocial abilities essential to the work.
“People focus on tasks like IVs and bloodwork,” Jeannie says, “but the relationships are just as important, especially when you’re working with complex trauma.”
Her work involves 12‑hour shifts supporting people through medically-supervised withdrawal.
For Jeannie, the reward is creating a safe, welcoming space where people feel comfortable and trust her during a difficult time. While the work in addiction and mental health can be hard, she says it also brings healing, strength and growth.
Jeannie became interested in nursing through personal experiences. She helped care for her grandmother with Alzheimer’s disease and grew up with a friend who had complex health needs. Nursing gave her a way to do meaningful work and travel.
Jeannie recalls that she first considered the Yukon as it answered her “call to adventure.” She had planned a short stay. Instead she says she’s now built a life she loves here and continues to travel during time off.
Jeannie says she never pictured herself working in mental health or addictions. Her advice to a young person, or someone thinking of changing careers? “Be open and don’t lose the willingness to learn.” In trying new things and getting outside her comfort zone, she has found a career she loves.
She believes transforming health starts with compassion. “It’s seeing the person for who they are, without judgment,” she says.
By reducing judgment and meeting people where they are, Jeannie helps transform health care into something deeply human: work she describes as beautiful, hard and profoundly rewarding.