As Canada鈥檚 Chief Nursing Office (CNO), Leigh Chapman, RN, PhD, provides strategic policy advice to Health Canada as well as input into decisions affecting the nursing profession. It鈥檚 a role that recognizes the important contribution of nurses in our healthcare system. As she explained during a special visit to the ISoN on April 30, policy has been a consistent theme in her wide-ranging career that included positions in clinical care, community care and harm reduction.
Since her appointment as CNO in 2022, nursing retention has been Ms. Chapman鈥檚 main focus. 鈥淲e have more nurse than ever before 鈥� the challenge is to keep them in the system,鈥� she noted. To that end, with the input of stakeholders across the country, on March 1, 2024 her office released its comprehensive . As a resource created 'by nurses, for nurses', the toolkit draws on the expertise of the nursing community, evidence-based practice, and current lived experiences of front-line nurses. It seeks to empower nurses of all levels, roles, and settings to experience fulfilment in their work and become leaders within their organizations. The toolkit has many examples of practical strategies that can be implemented to achieve workplace autonomy and flexibility.
Ms. Chapman also spoke about the need for more health services research examining nurse-led approaches to innovative models of care and workplace redesign. 鈥淲e can鈥檛 recruit our way out of this,鈥� she noted.
A lively question and answer period followed Dr. Chapman鈥檚 hybrid presentation, attended by 45 members of the ISoN community including faculty, students and staff, and invited clinical partners.