Scholarship, research and compassionate care – Nursing Week at Sinai Health

From direct care to leadership, innovation and research, teaching and learning as well as in support functions, like professional practice and quality, informatics, infection control, occupational health, and risk. Sinai Health has a long history of leadership in nursing, and Mount Sinai Hospital remains the only hospital in Canada to achieve the prestigious Magnet ® Designation.

“I am always struck by the sense of pride and commitment our nurses have for their patients, colleagues and profession,” said Jane Merkley, Executive Vice President, Chief Nurse Executive and Chief Operating Office of Sinai Health. “The support and comfort they offer one another is an anchor within our teams. Nurses are each other’s mentors, educators, students and sounding boards.”

Over the course of Nursing Week 2024 we had the opportunity to celebrate our nursing colleagues during a number of events that recognized the many roles nurses play.

Annual Scholarship Ceremony

A highlight of nursing week, the annual scholarship ceremony provides an opportunity recognize and celebrate nurses from Mount Sinai and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospitals who have chosen to pursue further education in their field. This year we acknowledged 10 nurses from across our organization. Congratulations to the winners!

Nursing Champion of Compassionate Care Awards

A new award introduced this year as part of Nursing Week, the Nursing Champion of Compassionate Care is meant to recognize the amazing, extraordinary and compassionate care our nurses give to not only our patients and their caregivers but also in supporting their peers and team members. Nominations could be made by colleagues as well as patients and families. In total, 57 nominations were received, with seven nurses receiving multiple nominations. Congratulations to the 17 recipients from across a variety of clinical programs, from the Emergency Department to Family Medicine, the Women’s and Infant’s Health Program to Complex Continuing Care and Rehabilitation.

Nurse-led Research and Innovation Showcase

Sinai Health is home to the Science of Care Institute and the Centre for Nursing Excellence, the only hospital-based centre for nursing in Canada. During Nursing week, 13 projects were presented during the showcase, all led by nurses. Over the course of two hours, topics across three streams, Compassionate Care Stream, Workforce Magnetism and Nursing Excellence Stream, and the Organizational and System Learning Stream were presented. Examples of the projects presented included managing insomnia in a hospital setting, the development of a nursing mentorship program in Labour and Delivery, to starting the national conversation on meeting the needs of internationally trained nurses.

Launch of the Laura Mary Teague Scholarship Foundation

The Laura Mary Teague Scholarship Foundation is an initiative designed to honour the legacy of Laura Mary Teague, PhD, and Nurse Practitioner, by supporting Ontario’s nurses and nurse practitioners who are dedicated to advancing their expertise in the specialized field of wound care. Laura Teague was a valued member of Sinai Health’s nursing team and a trailblazer in the nursing profession.

In recognition of her incredible impact, The Laura Mary Teague Scholarship Fund is intended to stand as a tribute to the extraordinary contributions of Dr. Teague, in the realm of wound care. This is made possible by Laura’s husband, David Breukelman and her family in partnership with Sinai Health Foundation.

The fund will financially empower nurses and nurse practitioners in their educational endeavours and also inspire a community-wide impact by elevating the standards of patient care through enhanced wound care knowledge and practice.

During Nursing week, in partnership with our Centre for Nursing Excellence, Sinai Health announced that it will offer an additional annual award to nurses here at Sinai Health as part of the Laura Mary Teague Scholarship in Wound Care. The scholarship will be formally launched in fall 2024.​