Registered Nurse Jan McFadzen did not start her career with a clear plan to become a nurse. She began studying general sciences at the University of Lethbridge, driven by an interest in health and science. After taking time away from school and working as a nanny in France, she returned to Canada with a new direction and enrolled in a hospital-based nursing program in Calgary.
After graduating, Jan moved to Vancouver and worked in bone marrow transplant nursing. This role gave her strong clinical experience. A call from a northern recruiter then changed her path. She applied for a job in Iqaluit but was offered a position in Inuvik instead. When the call ended, she looked up her new home in an atlas. Inspired by nurses who work in remote communities, she accepted the opportunity.
Jan spent many years working in northern communities, including Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Dawson City and Teslin. She also worked internationally for a year in South Sudan with Médecins Sans Frontières. “I worked with MSF when the organization received the Nobel Peace Prize,” she says.
Since 2000, Jan has worked with Yukon Communicable Disease Control (YCDC). Her work focuses on tracking infections, managing cases and supporting public health response. She stepped into a nurse-in-charge leadership role just before the COVID-19 pandemic and led through a period of rapid change. She drew on her experience working in rural and independent settings.
She is now acting manager of YCDC in Whitehorse.
“I love the detective work of public health,” says Jan. Her role involves tracing how diseases spread, working with partners across the health system and sharing clear information with the public. Her work shows how nurses use critical thinking to help stop the spread of disease and support community health.
Looking back, Jan says her career has given her a sense of adventure, independence and purpose. Over 3 decades, her work has continued to grow and change, creating new opportunities to learn and lead.