Joanna’s Personal Context

WELCOME!

I wholeheartedly believe that our previous experiences (including challenges and positive ones) as well as our locations, choices, and interpersonal influences all shape who we are in this moment. I consider my present position as Professor to be the current “stop” on my journey to become who I am today. It is not a culmination, but rather where I am in this moment on what will hopefully be a very long path.

Please click on each icon, for my reflections on how each “stop” in this road have influenced who I am today!

1996

Joanna’s Personal ContextOldest daughter of 5 children

Began working at SickKids Hospital1998

Master of Nursing First teaching position – York U

20072008

Birth of my twins – becominga mother of 4 boys aged 4 and under!

Bachelor ofScience in Nursing

2010Started teachingAt Durham College

2013Started full-time At Durham College 2014

Professional Development

The Journey Continues; The best is yet to come…

2014 Personal Loss

Growing UpI grew up in the east end of Toronto, in a very midde-class family. As the oldest girl (of 5 children) I was naturally a caretaker. This position also left me with a great sense of independence, responsibility and ability to “get the job done.” This nurturing trait contributes to my tendency to support students and demonstrate “caring” (as I did in nursing as well).I also grew up as a practicing Catholic, attending Catholic school from JK-Gr13. Although my beliefs are not entirely consistent with that religion, Catholicism influenced my values in terms of respect for others, as well as ethics. In high school we took a number of courses that focused on “others”….other religions, other people, and other perspectives. I have carried this perspective with me throughout my career.

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Becoming a NurseInterestingly, I have no family who are nurses…I just felt “drawn” to this career, without truly knowing what the job would be (an extension of my caretaking role most likely!). The only nurse I knew (a neighbor) tried to convince me not to do it. I still share that story with my students, because I believe that nursing is an absolutely amazing career. I know that as a group nurses need to be more supportive and positive, particularly when interacting with and mentoring new nurses. This positivity and passion for nursing influences how I interact with my students, and (hopefully) helps them to engage in their classes.

Going away to school at age 18 was a frightening yet exciting experience. As a first generation student, going “away to school” was a new concept for my parents, but their support helped me to succeed. I can relate to students who are introducing higher education to their families. I believe this experience furthered my independence, and allowed me to develop a sense of what it meant to be a nurse. I remember admiring my Professors, thinking this was something I would be interested in, but not truly believing it would be possible.

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My SickKids CareerThis is where my belief in Lifelong Learning was sparked. The SickKids culture supports and encourages lifelong learning and is, in part, responsible for my consistent quest for personal learning and growth. I am glad to have gotten my career started here, as I have seen nurses who begin (and end) their careers in institutions where there is no focus on lifelong learning. I believe this foundation has not only contributed to my personal approach, but also to how I emphasize and encourage lifelong learning in my students.My career on the transport team was the first job I had that included formal mentoring and teaching; this included one-on-one teaching of new staff, as well as teaching groups of nurses, RTs (and sometimes physicians) within and external to SickKids. These experiences allowed me to work with learners of various styles, professions and group sizes, and overall has contributed to my ability to be flexible in teaching situations, and “work with” a situation that my be less than ideal.

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Master of NursingI completed the Paediatric Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Toronto. Although I enjoyed teaching, I also found direct patient care so rewarding that I felt an NP role would allow me to combine both. Trying to juggle being a student with being a nurse, a wife and mother was certainly a challenge. During the time I was taking MN courses I also worked as a TA. This experience was very interesting; I found the professor somewhat disorganized and disrespectful to students at times. I considered how inappropriate this was, and I knew I would never treat post-secondary students (or anyone for that matter) that way.

Later that year I completed my first teaching position as a Clinical Instructor at York University. This experience strengthened my interest in teaching, and helped me to reconsider my career path. I discovered I was pregnant with twins during that rotation, so I set aside my career goals temporarily.BACK

My sons…my teachers!Faced with the challenge (yes, I’m calling it a challenge) of caring for 4 little boys had me do some significant soul searching. I came to the conclusion that ultimately my goal was to spend as much time as possible with my children while they were young. As a result, I resigned from SickKids (essentially abandoning a career as an NP) and began working part-time at Lakeridge Health. Ultimately, I believe I have empathy and consideration for students’ challenges outside of their classes and sometimes difficult decisions they have to make. This does not mean I alter expectations, or make things easier, but I do understand and try to support as best I can. Sometimes this means listening, sometimes it means referring, and occasionally it may mean providing an extension or other method of facilitating the students’ success. I also continued teaching, with a role at Centennial College in 2009.

One of my boys has been diagnosed with ADHD and Learning Disabilities. The process of diagnosis and treatment has been frustrating and emotional, yet an enlightening experience. He has helped me to understand how individual each student is, and how important it is for professors to support all student learning as best they can. I have since learned the importance of incorporating UDL principles, and recognize it is simply best practice.

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Finally!!!

After teaching for York University and Centennial College, I applied for a position as a Clinical Instructor at Durham College. I was thrilled to be the successful candidate. Reflecting on all of these post-secondary institutions, I can see how important it is to be culturally aware and respectful; while my perspective is that of a caucasian female, I know that many of my students do not share this perspective. Working with the Practical Nursing team, I gained valuable experience and exposure to some elements of program planning, curriculum design and the college system. I was hired full-time in 2013, and was provided with education as well as support from my colleagues that has helped my students to succeed in my courses.

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Professional DevelopmentI feel so extremely fortunate to have the opportunities afforded to me as Full-time Faculty at Durham College. At the age of 40, I feel like I am straddling the age groups of my colleagues. I think some of my older colleagues struggle with the technology and expectations that we must master. Although I started university with a word processor (which was quite innovative at the time!), I have had much exposure to technology through my education and careers. On the other hand, I think I have an element of maturity that may need further development in some of my younger colleagues. In addition to maturity, I have professional experience and education that contributes to the relationships I build with students (caring, yet maintaining a therapeutic nurse-client relationship, confidentiality, respect, non-judgmental approach).

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Personal Experience of Loss

Spring and Summer 2014 were particularly difficult for me personally. A close friend was dying of cancer, and I actually made the difficult decision to leave Focus-on-Learning early to be with her in her final hours. As I have considered this assignment, I have given much thought to her death; at the age of 45, she was far too young. Because her death was just over one month ago, it has greatly impacted my perspective, and has helped me to consider many aspects of my personal teaching style and approach. Firstly, I know that when I teach Health & Healing II next summer, the content regarding death, dying & grief will be much more meaningful for me, and hopefully the students. I will draw on the experiences of my friend, her family and myself, to help the students understand these concepts. As a close friend, I had the privilege of spending her last day on earth with her and her family. I truly believe that the emotion and specific detail I can share with the students (confidentially of course) will help them have a better (and deeper I hope) understanding of the material. My friends’ husband was actually in school at the time, and I could see how difficult it was for him, given what he was coping with at home. This has reaffirmed for me the importance of considering the students’ perspectives, competing responsibilities, and challenges to success in their program.

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