Winners of the 2016 LPN Awards of Excellence: Jaclyn (Nikki) Maucieri, LPN; Stefanie Nicol, LPN; Colleen Kasa, RN; and Manpreet Chahal, LPN.
Passion for their clients’ health and their colleagues’ education defines this year’s Awards of Excellence winners.
The winners and the nominees were celebrated April 28 during the Awards Dinner at the CLPNA’s 2016 AGM & Conference. LPN winners received a $1000 cash award.
RELATED – About the LPN Awards of Excellence
Rita McGregor Excellence in Nursing Education Award
Honouring an LPN nursing educator or a designated preceptor in a clinical setting who consistently demonstrates excellence in providing education in the workplace.
Winner: Manpreet Chahal, LPN
From large projects to the needs of individual clients, Manpreet Chahal’s passion for educating staff at Park Place Hardisty Care Centre in Edmonton is evident. The centre has experienced many changes recently which have increased the complexity of care. Manpreet ensured the staff was provided clarity on the changes and how they affect each department. This included inviting specialists to provide key information: a behaviour specialist, a transition unit workshop, and education on OATS information, capacity assessment, accreditation, and CPR.
All health professionals at Hardisty benefit from Manpreet’s multi-disciplinary team approach to providing the best quality care for our residents. An example is her workshop on the possible side effects of reducing antipsychotics in long-term care. Another is her hand washing workshop for seniors.
Sometimes, education is required to benefit a single client. The first time they admitted a resident with ALS , Manpreet was quick to bring in a qualified professional to speak to each department on how to best care for that client’s particular needs.
Manpreet is very innovative in her presentations and consistently seeks improvement in her style, topics, and areas of interest and importance. She developed an Education Fair consisting of a dozen creative information boards with a corresponding questionnaire booklet. To accommodate shift workers, Manpreet placed them in an easily accessible location for a week. The questionnaire even accommodated different learning styles.
One of the strongest values that Manpreet exhibits is her belief that knowledge and understanding create a successful sense of unity among different disciplines. There are a variety of challenges in any long-term care facility. Manpreet’s open door policy comfortably allows co-workers from all departments to discuss issues. She is a dedicated, passionate and positive individual who deserves every recognition.
Pat Fredrickson Excellence in Leadership Award
Honouring LPNs who consistently demonstrate excellence in leadership, advocacy, communication and a passion for the profession.
Winner: Stefanie Nicol, LPN
Stefanie Nicol’s role at the Taber Clinic in Taber has grown significantly over the last decade. She’s become a gastrointestinal nurse specialist, a researcher, an educator, and a philanthropist, positively impacting clients and colleagues on the way.
As Lead Clinical Coordinator, she helped develop the Taber Colon Cancer Screening Program from the ground up. Stefanie reviews the pathology with the endoscopist and educates each patient on the findings, follow-up and continued care. This revolutionized the program’s effectiveness and saved many lives. Over time, she became a consultant to other rural sites seeking to establish a colon cancer screening program.
Her independent pursuit of GI-specific education put her in touch with researchers. She worked as a research assistant in the APC-Endo study (2011) and the AFPEE study (2015) evaluating quality measures in rural endoscopy in Alberta.
She has also been a key coordinator and research assistant for the ongoing Taber Colon Cancer Screening Study. The colon cancer screening rates during her tenure increased from around 25% to about 76%, and the incidence of colon cancer declined from 15 patients per year down to three.
Stefanie’s love of knowledge transformed into educating others. She joined the Canadian Society of Gastrointestinal Nurses and Associates (CSGNA), and went on to form a Southern Alberta Chapter. In 2012, she was awarded the CSGNA Annual RPN/LPN/Technician Award for Excellence. Her chapter received Chapter of the Year for excellence in providing education. In 2013, Stefanie was invited to sit on the board for the new Alberta Society of Endoscopic Practice (ASEP). ASEP was formed to educate and improve gastrointestinal endoscopy in rural Alberta sites.
In addition to these professional pursuits, Stefanie has a passion for global humanitarian aid. Stefanie helped establish the TANGO (Taber Assisting Nations through Global Outreach) Foundation. The most recent trip took 64 volunteers to Peru to perform cataract and general surgery, general medical, dental and optometric care, construction at a local orphanage, and educational efforts with a local school. As Board Secretary, she facilitates fundraising events, helps organize each trip, and participates as a nurse on most of the humanitarian missions.
Stefanie is a tremendous asset to her community and the province of Alberta. She is a superb example of what a licensed practical nurse can do with impassioned love and care for her patients, colleagues and those in need around the world.
Laura Crawford Excellence in Nursing Practice Award
Honouring LPNs who display exemplary nursing knowledge, promote an atmosphere of teamwork, mentor team members, and show pride in the profession.
Winner: Jaclyn (Nikki) Maucieri, LPN
Nikki Maucieri’s technical skills span the range expected of the most experienced nurses and well beyond. In her ten years at Total Skincare Centre in Calgary, she has been involved in every aspect of management, from medical care to administration, as a surgical assist in an accredited non-hospital surgical facility, and working independently in cosmetic practice. Nikki’s knowledge and skills as an LPN show mastery of essential and advanced areas including medical and cosmetic consultations, health assessment, central reprocessing sterilization unit management, and team coaching.
Nikki demonstrates exemplary nursing skills while caring for patients with advanced skin cancer. Her critical thinking is evident in her ability to analyze the changing dynamics found in each surgical procedure as she initiates local anesthesia and assists in surgery, including extensive facial reconstruction. With a ‘can-do’ attitude, her positive advocacy is a great comfort to her clients as she ensures their health needs and concerns are expressed to the medical staff inside and outside her facility. She spends a great deal of time in patient education to empower them to make quality healthcare choices.
Nikki’s skills and knowledge have allowed her be a lead contributor to the efficient operation of a medical practice, as well as educationally supporting staff and clients. Internally, she’s created operational and team member policy and procedures manuals, and an appointment super-schedule. As Pod Leader, Nikki is the primary coordinator of learning and training for all team members. She leads huddles, group hiring interviews, and facilitates educational modules to family medicine residents. In response to a sudden heart attack in the facility’s waiting room, she led changes to emergency procedures protocol. She’s made websites to educate medical professionals on how to take appropriate photographs of patients undergoing procedures for facial surgery; an online sunscreen education program for our skin cancer patients; and assisted on a website about diagnosing malignant melanoma.
She has even contributed to four research projects (two published) through her genuine passion to continuous learning.
Nikki is a rare and special nurse who sets a very high standard for her profession.
Interprofessional Development Award
Recognizing non-LPN healthcare leaders who are instrumental in building quality practice environments.
Winner: Colleen Kasa, RN
Colleen Kasa is noted for being inspirational, collaborative, and very dedicated to her work as a nurse, educator, mentor and supporter to the entire healthcare team. As a Clinical Educator at the Misericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton, Colleen provides education to physicians, occupational therapists, respiratory therapists, social workers, and the nursing team of LPNs, RNs, and Health
Care Aides. She frequently goes above and beyond to ensure access to these opportunities.
Her co-workers say, “Every day, Colleen encourages, teaches and inspires us all to be better nurses and gives us the ability to work well in our multidisciplinary forum…developing a safe and quality work environment.”
Her work demonstrates leadership, fosters a collaborative practice environment, promotes professional growth and development, and creates high functioning multidisciplinary teams, all while advocating for the entire team’s scope of practice. She ensures that all LPNs are valued as part of the team that provides exceptional care for patients.
Colleen is also an active member in the community for over 40 years. She’s taught first aid courses, organized a nutrition program, taught children with special needs and children for whom English is a second language.
Colleen exemplifies the person that this award describes.
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