Employed Student Nurse wins survey

Christine Fraser is a former employed student nurse (ESN) who worked at R. W. Large Memorial Hospital in Bella Bella and Bella Coola General Hospital in Bella Coola.  We wish her best of luck with her studies and future endeavor!

Here’s a letter Christine wrote about the program:

“I am a new grad from the nursing program at Trinity Western University. I worked as an ESN at R. W. Large Memorial Hospital in Bella Bella and Bella Coola General Hospital in Bella Coola, and absolutely loved my time there! These are both fairly remote locations with small hospitals, so I covered the ER, acute care, and LTC wings every shift, which gave an exciting variety of experiences, from hospice care to medevacs and peds to elders.

Working in small communities and small hospitals meant I got to know my colleagues and neighbors very well, both inside and outside the hospital. We often went hiking together, and would show the new locum staff the sights in the village. The free housing I got across the street from the hospitals was another bonus! Bella Bella is the home of the Heiltsuk First Nation, and Bella Coola is on the land of the Nuxalk First Nation, so I was blessed to be able to work with and learn from people of another culture, where I, as a white woman, was part of the minority.

Working as an ESN with VCH was great – even though I was far away geographically, my STEP coordinator kept in touch with me, offering support, advice, and helpful resources. I would recommend ESNing with VCH, especially in remote sites, to all nursing students!” – Christine Fraser former ESN

The program

The ESN program was developed to provide student nurses with an opportunity to consolidate the knowledge and skills they are learning in their nursing program. We recognize that, as new nurses begin their career as a Registered Nurse (RN), it can be overwhelming and daunting. Our goal is to collaboratively work with student nurses to assist them as they begin to solidify their nursing practice.