Natasha Larkin is a second year Master of Nursing student in the Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner stream at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±ÏÖ³¡. What drew Natasha to the program was its focus on the principles of primary healthcare and its applicability to patients across the lifespan. The latter is particularly important to Natasha as she has experience providing nursing care ranging from labour and delivery to palliative care. Now in her Master of Nursing degree, Natasha wants to build upon her previous experience and skills and continue to serve a population across the lifespan in a more autonomous role.
Natasha obtained two undergraduate degrees and a diploma prior to beginning her Master’s degree. Her first undergraduate degree is in International Development Studies from Dalhousie University. She was drawn to this field because of her interest in social justice in a global context. It was this degree that inspired her second: a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Toronto. Through nursing, Natasha felt she could best address some of the issues she had studied in her international development studies degree, both abroad and right at home. She then obtained a Professional Diploma in Tropical Nursing which further prepared her for work in low-income settings.
Prior to beginning her Master's degree, Natasha worked for over eight years in remote northern communities including Moose Factory, Ontario; Attawapiskat, Ontario; and Dawson City, Yukon; where Natasha worked in a variety of areas including emergency nursing, pediatrics, mental health, labour and delivery, and interestingly, in policy and procedural development for the opening of a hospital. While working in these remote communities, Natasha was exposed to local issues first-hand and was galvanized by her ability to have a significant impact through her work. "There is an increase in autonomy when you're working remotely," Natasha said, "it is important to be able to prioritize and be adaptable to your surroundings". Natasha particularly appreciated getting to know the different communities, First Nations populations, and their respective cultures. Being raised in a northern town, Natasha reflected that, "even though [these communities] are in our back yard, many Canadians have little awareness of the daily reality facing Indigenous populations today".
Though she always knew that she wanted to continue onto graduate studies, Natasha wasn't certain of her focus until she filled these diverse roles in remote communities. Through these experiences, Natasha developed a desire to increase her autonomy in practicing acute care, and felt compelled to integrate more primary care principles into her scope of practice. This would include equipping herself with skills in health promotion and disease prevention so that she could better address the root of some of the issues she had been exposed to.
A couple of things Natasha enjoys about the Queen’s Nurse Practitioner program is the opportunity to start clinical placements right away and the history of a strong relationship between Queen’s University and Moose Factory. In addition, Natasha’s professors have a great deal of first-hand experience that allows them to explain concepts quite comprehensively. The program has also been flexible for students who have families. For Natasha, this flexibility meant she could continue to work as a teaching assistant, as a part time student, while she had her second child.
During the first year of the program, Natasha focused her research and writing on the subject of women in rural and remote areas who have had to travel long distances for childbirth. Natasha has both experience caring for women who had to travel for childbirth while working in remote northern communities and personal experience. Natasha herself had to relocate to Whitehorse for the birth of her first child while she was working in Dawson City, Yukon. Natasha hopes to one day turn her first-hand experiences into a learning opportunity for other healthcare practitioners.
As a final note, when I asked Natasha what advice she would have for nurses looking to become nurse practitioners, she outlined some of same key skills that are vital for all nurses – empathy, passion, and an ability to think on your feet. After speaking with Natasha, I have no doubt that she will continue to use these same skills to do impactful work in whatever community or city she settles down in after finishing her Master’s degree.