In 1985, I had convinced my Sikh parents that going to UBC instead of having an arranged marriage was a better idea. The story I told was that an “educated” girl may do better on the marriage marketplace than an uneducated one – secretly I was a rebel in the making.
I was accepted for both the Arts Program and the School of Nursing by UBC and decided on the BSN Program, simply because my high school best friend had also been accepted. So, there I was — the imposter in my first year of nursing at UBC. I remember going around the room at the beginning of many first year classes and everyone shared their story of how they came to want to be a nurse either because of a personal health encounter or because “they always knew.” I dared not vocalize that I had chosen nursing because I followed my best friend’s path and was running away from an arranged marriage.
The exposure to new ideas by my professors in nursing and adult education were a conscious awakening for my sheltered mind. I remember being in lectures with Prof. Clarissa Green and having my first inkling of challenging the problematic roles of women in society. I also remember Dr. Mary Regester’s passion for epidemiology. I felt I was in the presence of power and pioneers which led not to just professional understanding of nursing but also many personal insights – my BSN education was rigorous in setting a high bar of professional knowledge and conduct.
My time at UBC was also memorable when I received a “You are not going to pass unless you achieve a 70% average in your Zoology (A&P) class” letter in my first year.” I remember the fear that I lived with and decided to meet with my Zoology professor each week after spending countless hours studying Anatomy & Physiology at the Woodward Library. I often reflect with amusement that I have taught A & P to thousands of nursing students since that time.
My first job as a new graduate was on a medical floor where shortly after beginning there was a nursing strike and I remember how fast I had to work to learn everything to keep up! I owe so much to those senior nurses who didn’t laugh when, even after receiving a nursing degree, I still had no idea that a stethoscope could turn on and off. I became fascinated with the cardiac patients that I worked with and decided to go to BCIT and get my intensive care certification. I then worked in intensive care and in the spinal cord units. During this time, I returned to UBC for a chat with Dr. Sally Thorne about my contemplation about nursing practice and she invited me to teach at UBC as a clinical instructor. Thus started my 26-year path as an acute care clinical and theory instructor. I was fortunate to have been mentored in my educator role by Dr. Barbara Paterson. Teaching at the UBC School of Nursing was eye-opening with all of the research being undertaken by those around me and I decided to enroll in the Master’s in Nursing at UBC with a focus on adult education.
I noticed that, despite the literature on critical thinking and clinical reasoning there was little to guide us clinical educators in showing our students the cognitive processes that a registered nurse undertakes to arrive at safe and competent care. At the same time, I was beginning to be asked to consult as an expert witness on patient charts where adverse events had occurred. I then set about researching and formalizing a cognitive tool that I had utilized on scrap pieces of paper with my nursing students over the years. Once again, I returned to the UBC School of Nursing for guidance as to where I could share my findings, and Dr. Sally Thorne again provided me with some sound professional guidance. I published The Safe Care Framework – a practical tool for critical thinking – in 2020.
That Framework is now part of the curriculum at the Vancouver Community College Bachelors of Science Program to assist nursing students in managing the complexity of critical thinking in practice. I was also fortunate to share this work with colleagues nationally and internationally at the Sigma Theta Tau International Conference in 2017 in Amhurst, MA, the International Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning in 2017 in Washington, D.C. and Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing Conference in 2018 in Montreal. And I continue to reach out to learners through my Safe Care Nursing website.
Over the years, I have always been fascinated with the topic of patient safety from a systems perspective and that has led to learning more through a residency program with the B.C. Health and Quality Forum. Again, in 2024, I felt the great need to broaden my mind and returned to my “home” at UBC School of Nursing to begin my first year in the PhD program. Having been a registered nurse for 36 years now, I am hoping this new phase of my learning will help me contribute to patient safety from a systems-wide perspective. Taking this new step at this stage in my career, I reflect on how so much of my being has been shaped by my work as a nurse over the years and how much my being has shaped my professional journey.
I have had wonderful experiences of working as a consultant all over the province in assisting both novice and registered nurses with critical thinking skills within the current complexity and watching nervous new nursing students grow into strong, confident professionals. This has been the highlight of my career. UBC School of Nursing prepared me to always have an inquiring mind and remain constantly open to innovation and “rocking the boat without falling out of it.” As my story reflects, I have always found caring and intelligent guidance from my mentors at UBC School of Nursing, both as an alumnus and a student.
I never did get that arranged marriage, and have now been happily married for 31 years to a husband who was a product of the UBC Chemical Engineering program (another great thing UBC gave me!). We have a 24-year-old daughter, Taylor Douglas, who graduated from the London School of Economics with a Master’s Degree in Gender Studies and Political Science and lives and works in London. We also have a 21-year-old daughter, Alexandra Douglas, who is completing her Bachelor’s degree at McGill in Economics and International Development and is bent on looking at health issues through these lenses.
Little did I know that a career I decided on in 30 minutes would have led to such richness and diversity. I feel I have been given far more than I could have imagined at the beginning of my professional career in 1989! I have always returned to my professional “home” at UBC School of Nursing for guidance and enriching my mind and heart. My advice to new students? Never give up on yourself even when the terrain seems unsurmountable. The greatest gift you will bring to this profession is your humanity, your sharp mind, and your spirit.
