From policy to proven practice: Optimizing nursing roles

Session description

Join us to explore how coordinated, system-level approaches can strengthen the nurse workforce in Saskatchewan. This presentation will share findings from a three-phase study in British Columbia designed to inform policy and strategy for optimizing clinical nurse specialist roles – insights that are highly relevant as Saskatchewan works to better utilize nurses and expand interdisciplinary care models.

You’ll hear:

• Key insights from research: Results from an environmental scan, a provincial Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) survey, and interview with CNSs and senior health leaders.
• Evidence-informed recommendations: Strategies to enhance CNS workforce planning, integration, and impact, such as standardizing roles, improving education and competency building, and embedding nurses more fully in health system operations.
• Practical actions for Saskatchewan: Guidance on how these findings can inform local efforts to leverage nursing expertise, strengthen team-based care, and improve patients outcomes.
• Tools for sustainable change: Approaches for onboarding, career pathways, and evaluation to support the visibility and long-term viability of nurse roles.

Register now to gain a clear understanding of how lessons from BC can help Saskatchewan advance its goals of optimizing the nursing workforce and implementing more comprehensive care province wide.

Speakers

Dr. Sandra Lauck: Dr. Sandra Lauck holds the St. Paul’s Hospital Professorship in Cardiovascular Nursing at UBC. She is also a professor, clinician scientist, and clinical nurse specialist lead.

Dr. Lauck leads a program of research focused on improving outcomes and experiences of people with cardiovascular disease, optimizing care processes and delivery models to accelerate the uptake of contemporary evidence, and the advancement of nursing practice. She is committed to linking clinical practice, policy, and scholarship through active engagement across systems.

Dr. Leah Lambert: Dr. Leah Lambert is a clinical nurse scientist who holds a dual role as the Executive Director and Senior Specialist of the Nursing and Allied Health Research and Knowledge Translation department at BC Cancer. She is also a professor at the UBC School of Nursing.

Her program of research takes an equity-first approach to examining the needs of cancer patients and caregivers, with a focus on expanding multidisciplinary approaches to problem solving within the care system. She investigates how practices, policies, and structures contribute to inequities, and identifies strategies to enhance equity, improve patient outcomes, and stabilize the workforce.

Watch Recording

A recording of the presentation will be available after the session.