In our final episode of Nurses' Voices Season Three, we speak with Angela Wignall about the impact of COVID-19 as well as the current context of care on the health human resources crisis and the urgency of investing in quality practice environments as a critical priority for health system transformation. Trauma-informed leadership is one framework that can support leaders in designing resilient systems where nurses and others in health care thrive. Through the principles of safety, trustworthiness, peer support, mutuality, empowering voice and choice, and cultural and historical factors, trauma-informed leadership aims to centre the humans who care for humans in reimagining the future of health care in Canada.

This episode focuses on how one organization is attempting to reduce documentation burden to prevent nurses’ burnout by identifying redundant or double documentation required to be completed by nurses. The goal is to reduce nurse’s workload related to documentation and information retrieval in Electronic Health Records (EHR), so that they can have more opportunities for therapeutic engagement with clients and feel less burdened by EHR. Thanks to this innovation, the time spent on issues that aren't directly related to care decreases, empowering nurses and their clinical practice to succeed.

This episode highlights the Sharing Circle, a website that was developed with the aim to improve accessibility and healthcare for Indigenous people by the Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada (NSWOCC) Indigenous Wound, Ostomy and Continence Health Core Program. This website is dedicated to helping patients, NSWOCs, and other healthcare professionals across Canada access a directory of resources (general and province and territory specific), education, training, and support related to Indigenous wound, ostomy and continence health.

This episode also highlights nurses who take on volunteer roles and lead health initiatives that they are passionate about.