For Justin Madigan, RPN, nursing has always been about people and that connection started long before he ever wore a uniform or held a leadership title.
Justin Madigan, RPN, Expanding leadership through example
For Justin Madigan, RPN, nursing has always been about people and that connection started long before he ever wore a uniform or held a leadership title.
At just 14 years old, Justin was already spending his weekends working at his father’s retirement home in Cornwall. He started in housekeeping, moved into dietary services, answered phones, helped with maintenance, and—most importantly—spent time with residents. “I felt very comfortable with seniors,” he recalls. “Listening to their stories just felt natural. I didn’t have to try.”
Those early experiences planted a seed. While Justin initially considered joining the family business, he knew he wanted to work in a field centered on helping others. That instinct would ultimately shape a career spanning long-term care, mental health, community nursing, leadership—and now senior administration.
Building a Foundation in Care
Justin’s formal journey into healthcare began with his Personal Support Worker certification, followed by nearly eight years working in long-term care, specializing in dementia and Alzheimer’s care on a secure unit. “I loved it,” he says. “PSWs are the eyes and ears of care.” But over time, he felt ready for the next step.
That step came through the Practical Nursing program at St. Lawrence College, where Justin completed the fast-track RPN stream. After graduating, he was hired at The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, where he spent five years working across diverse programs including schizophrenia care, child and youth mental health, geriatrics, recovery, and addictions.
These experiences shaped his clinical confidence and his understanding of teamwork. “Being an RPN taught me that you’re already a leader,” Justin explains. “You’re supervising, collaborating, and advocating every day. Teamwork is what makes care excellent.”
Learning Through Complexity
Alongside his work in mental health, Justin expanded his practice into acute care, community nursing, and public health. He worked on a medicine unit at Queensway Carleton Hospital, supported fly-in fly-out Indigenous communities, and administered COVID-19 vaccinations during the pandemic across Northern Ontario and the Ottawa region.
Each role reinforced the same lesson: empathy matters. “You have to put yourself in the patient’s shoes,” he says. “Even on the hardest days, when you’re exhausted, you remember why they’re there and why you’re there.”
Stepping Into Leadership
Justin never planned to become a leader. But leadership had other plans for him.
At Royal Ottawa Place—a long-term care home supporting residents with severe mental illness—Justin was approached to take on a newly created Clinical Support Supervisor role, overseeing more than 60 PSWs. One year later, when his mentor was promoted, Justin was asked to step into the Nurse Manager position, eventually managing over 100 staff.
“I was nervous,” he admits. “I’d only been in leadership for a year. I was happy being on the floor.” But he took the leap and made history in the process as the first RPN nurse manager in the hospital.
That visibility mattered. “A lot of RPNs looked up to that,” he says. “They saw it was possible.”
Justin believes leadership doesn’t mean leaving care behind. He made a point of being present on the units, helping staff, pushing wheelchairs to the dining room, stepping in when teams were short-staffed. “Staff respect seeing managers on the floor. They know you care.”
Advocacy, Education, and Breaking Barriers
Throughout his leadership journey, Justin has been a strong advocate for RPNs. He challenges the narrative that RPNs are “only bedside nurses” or lack the ability to be leaders in their organizations.
“We are nurses,” he says plainly. “RPNs are capable of so much more than we’re often told.”
He has supported evidence-informed practice through his work with the RNAO Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO) program, presenting locally and provincially including at conferences with audiences of more than 200 people. “Standing up and saying, ‘I’m an RPN, and I’m a nurse manager,’ was powerful—for me and for others.”
Justin is also candid about the challenges RPNs face today: expanding responsibilities without adequate support, inequities in pay, and the confidence gap that keeps many from pursuing leadership. “Encouragement and proper training make all the difference,” he says.
Looking ahead, Justin is preparing to step into a new role as Assistant Director of Care at Cardinal Creek Residence, a long-term care home opening in Ottawa in 2026. Grounded in frontline experience and guided by a people-first approach, he hopes his journey encourages other RPNs to see leadership as both possible and necessary. “Take the leap — you might be surprised by what you’re capable of.”