NURSING IN THE CANADIAN ARCTIC

 

Community Health Nursing in the Canadian Arctic

Hi everyone, that’s me in the picture. This photo was taken on November 2020 during my journey up in the Canadian Arctic (Nunavut Territory).

The Arctic is a place you hear people talk about and see pictures of in magazines. But I never thought in a million years that I would ever end up working here as a community health nurse. So when this amazing opportunity came knocking on my door – I said Yes!

In short, the Canadian Arctic is wild, immensely isolated (most communities in the Nunavut Territory are fly-in only communities), and the winters are extremely cold.  

Working as a community health nurse within a health center setting was something completely brand new to me. My nursing experience before this journey came mainly from working in a hospital/acute care setting. So the learning curve was steep and it was very overwhelming. I was burnt out and got sick during the first week due to the long work hours and lack of sleep. 

That said, the Inuit people were some of the most welcoming and resilient people I have ever met throughout all of my travels to different parts of the world. Furthermore, I gained a new set of nursing knowledge & skills, and I had the pleasure of working with some amazing nurses & nurse practitioners who raised the bar for me. I couldn't have done it without them. Overall, I grew as a person both personally and professionally. 

This photo was taken Feb. 2021, in the small Arctic community of Tuktoyaktuk

Sun set outside of Kativik Health Center that I worked at 

Myself with a local elderly Inuit (community of Gjoa Haven, Nunavut Territory)

Tuktoyaktuk (Northwest Territories) is the only community in Canada on the Arctic Ocean that's connected to the rest of the country by public road and the furthest north someone can drive in Canada.