“Each day is an exciting opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. It is a very rewarding career.”
Diana Noseworthy is a RPN who currently works in paediatric rehabilitation at the largest facility of its kind in Canada – Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. As a member of the Brain Injury Rehab Team (BIRT), Diana uses her knowledge and expertise to assist patients and their families with the difficult process of recovery after an acquired brain injury. A significant part of Diana’s role revolves around teaching – whether that means teaching her young patients how to relearn an activity of daily living or teaching their parents how to administer enteral feeds and medications so they can care more independently for their children.
Diana graduated from the Centennial College practical nursing diploma program in 2003 and has been a nurse (her first career) for the past eight years. Diana is an active advocate for health care and nursing and participates in a number of groups and committees. In addition to serving as a member of the Nursing Practice Council, she also plays a significant role in the Scope Enhancement Committee for RPNs at Holland Bloorview. The Scope Enhancement Committee implemented a number of changes to help ensure RPNs were being more fully utilizing their knowledge and skill in practice. The initial project was aimed at having RPNs administer narcotics, as this was something only done by RNs at the time. After extensive collaboration with management, medical advisory, information systems, clinical educators and pharmacy, RPNs’ scope of practice was enhanced, paving the way for them to begin administering narcotics.
“I believe this has helped improve client care, as it has decreased wait times for medications required for pain control, as well as boosting employee satisfaction, as RPNs have the ability to more fully utilizing their knowledge and skill,” says Diana, who was the recipient of the 2009 Award of Excellence from Holland Bloorview.
Diana and another RPN are currently chairing the Scope Enhancement Committee, with their next organizational goal being to enable RPNs to administer injections at the Holland Bloorview facility.
Based on her experience at Holland Bloorview, Diana says she has a newfound appreciation for collaboration. “Collaboration within the inter-professional team is absolutely vital to reach the clients’ rehabilitation goals,” she says.
Outside of work, Diana says she is focused on continuing education and is currently completing a Maternal Newborn Certificate. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, fishing and scrapbooking.