May 17, 2021
Registered Nurse Amanda Mifsud updates the ER triage board at Myron Thompson Health Centre in Sundre. “I love rural nursing. It's a challenge, but it's one that I welcome. You know, I have been able to use all of my skills that I've learned over the years, and I'm learning more every single day,” she says.
Story by Tracy Kennedy | Photo by Chantal Crawford
A young woman raised in Sundre has come full circle after being hired at her hometown hospital — and her employers couldn’t be more thrilled about landing a homegrown talent.
Recently recruited to Sundre’s Myron Thompson Health Centre, Amanda Mifsud graduated high school in Sundre, took her Bachelor of Science, Nursing at Red Deer College, and has now returned to Sundre full-time as a registered nurse (RN).
“We moved to Sundre when I was just a kid and I fell in love with living in a rural community,” says the 26-year-old. “It was so nice to grow up on a farm and learn the responsibilities of living in a rural community — it was a unique way to grow up.”
Back when she was a young member of Sundre’s volunteer fire department, Mifsud found herself gravitating toward the medical calls. When one memorable call involved STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society), she found herself wowed by the knowledge and professionalism demonstrated by the nurses on the team.
From that moment on, she was hooked on nursing as her career goal.
“I love rural nursing. It's a challenge, but it's one that I welcome. You know, I have been able to use all of my skills that I've learned over the years, and I'm learning more every single day,” says Mifsud.
“Sometimes you’re the unit clerk, sometimes you’re in emergency, sometimes the lab. I like the camaraderie of the team.”
It’s that camaraderie that hospital site manager Chantal Crawford points to as one of the reasons that homegrown recruits can hit the ground running.
“They already have some connections and they’re accustomed to the rural world,” says Crawford. “It’s easier for them to stay long-term because they can easily fit in, work well with the team and they have a commitment to the community.”
Crawford equates a rural nurse to a jack-of-all-trades who can work independently and switch gears quickly, always ready to support in all disciplines from neonatal to geriatric.
“It has to be a passion, it’s a specialty all its own,” she adds. “You have to have the confidence in your own abilities to trust your judgment, ask questions when you need supports, make hard choices and challenge yourself constantly.”
On her journey into nursing, Mifsud’s passion grew stronger. During her studies at Red Deer College, she participated in a nursing skills weekend hosted in Sundre by Alberta Health Services (AHS) and Sundre’s hospital in partnership with the Rural Health Professions Action Plan (RhPAP) and the Sundre Health Professions Attraction and Retention Committee.
Crawford and the other nurses there say they were impressed with Mifsud’s eagerness that weekend, and by her ability to jump in and get things done. She was later offered a preceptorship at the site, which led to her current, permanent position.
“It’s rewarding for the whole hospital and the whole team to see those recruitment efforts pay off,” says Crawford.
For Mifsud’s part, she’s grateful to be part of her hometown healthcare team — and loves the advantages of being connected to the rural community at large.
“It's amazing because I'll be in the patient's room on a night shift and there's deer sleeping outside the window. Or people come in on their way to work and they're showing pictures of the river and a beautiful sunrise,” says Mifsud.
“So, having that small-town feeling is one thing, and then it's also about working to the scope of all of your skills and making a difference for our team and our patients.”
