AHS picks up two awards for nursing excellence

U of C Faculty of Nursing celebrates successful student placements

Story by Gregory Kennedy

CALGARY — The outstanding work of Alberta Health Services (AHS) is being celebrated by the University of Calgary with two wins in this year’s Faculty of Nursing Pursuit of Excellence Awards.

The 2022 Outstanding Team Award recognizes the partnership of the AHS Student Placement team and Faculty of Nursing Clinical Placement team.

The 2022 Committee’s Choice Award honours Fadumo Robinson, AHS’ associate chief nursing officer, who also oversees CoAct Collaborative Care with Health Professions Strategy & Practice (HPSP).

“The Faculty of Nursing Pursuit of Excellence Awards recognize the hard work, commitment and success of our students, faculty, staff, alumni and community partners in whom we take great pride,” says faculty dean Sandra Davidson.

“You truly represent the pursuit of excellence. You inspire us. It is our pleasure to highlight your contributions and say ‘thank you’ for everything that you do.”

The team award acknowledges the dedication and collaborative work from both placement teams during the pandemic to ensure both safety for all, and continuation of clinical experiences.

AHS individuals highlighted for their achievements include manager Jacqueline Albers, practice education consultant Darla Dickson and student placement coordinator Jessica McAlpine as well as their U of C partners Zahra Shajani, Stacy Oke and Rachelle Dahlke.

“This truly shows the collaboration that the whole student placement team has with all the post-secondary institutions we work with,” says Teri Langlois, executive director, Policy, Regulation & Student Placements, HPSP. In all, AHS works with 145 post-secondary institutions (including multiple faculties).

“I’m so very proud of them,” adds Albers, manager, Provincial Student Placement, HPSP. “It’s been a very trying two years, with so many changes. Our team maintained their professionalism and people skills throughout all the COVID-19 restrictions and capacity challenges, the changing technology with the growth of Connect Care, and changes to how our students receive their AHS IT access.”

Robinson, recipient of the Committee’s Choice Award, was also a nominee for the 2022 Inspirational Mentor Award.

“We work closely together to find innovative, outside-of-the-box ways to support the care of Albertans by creating a wider range of opportunities for nurses,” she says.

“I’ve worked with U of C on many initiatives. Our recent Undergraduate Nurse Employee Initiative attracted more skilled support for patient care during the pandemic. This initiative, which was embraced by the U of C Faculty of Nursing, allowed student nurses who were at the end of their program to come work for us while they finished their final course requirements. Together we produced almost 500 new employees for Alberta Health Services.

“We also worked together on an initiative called Grow Your Nurse, which saw a program established in Wainwright to recruit rural students, to educate them locally,” Robinson adds. “Our hopes are that, when they graduate, they’ll stay in their rural settings.”

Robinson gives most of the credit to her colleagues for the U of C award and her team’s success.

“I always feel a bit uneasy about recognition when it’s for one person. I couldn’t do the work I do without my team, period. But I am honoured that it’s recognition for the team I lead for their work, innovation and commitment to nursing excellence.”

See more winners and information on the 2022 Faculty of Nursing Pursuit of Excellence Awards. Learn more about opportunities for students at AHS.