“We respond to over 2,000 requests for information and services a year, which, I think, shows we are a go-to place for research in Manitoba,” says Susan McClement [MN/93, PhD/01] associate dean, research at the College of Nursing.

The centre currently supports 28 researchers in the college, including a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair, providing funding, consultation and other resources.

“Right now we have three researchers with prestigious chair positions and have had 14 chairs awarded to eight different individuals since 2000,” McClement says.

Since 2014 alone, MCNHR researchers have received 131 grants and career awards totaling more than $9.9 million in research funding.

The MCNHR was founded in 1985 as the Manitoba Nursing Research Institute by the late Dr. Helen Glass [Cert.Nurs.(T&S)/58] when she was director of what was then called the School of Nursing.

“We owe gratitude to Dr. Glass for her vision in understanding the need for infrastructure to support nursing research and scholarship,” McClement says.

As part of her associate dean portfolio, McClement assumed the role of director of the MCNHR in 2018, following the lead of seven previous leaders, starting with Dr. Lesley Degner [BN/69], now a distinguished professor emerita.

Senior research manager Diane Cepanec [BA/94, MA/99] has worked with most of those leaders since she started with the centre 20 years ago. “Each of them helped shape what the MCNHR is today and has been an amazing leader and mentor,” says Cepanec.

Hired as a research coordinator in 2000, Cepanec has seen the centre‘s growth first-hand. “We went from offering a single grant valued at $2,000 in 1998 to awarding a total of 12 grants worth more than $60,000 in 2019,” she says.

Dr. Annette Schultz, associate professor, has been a researcher with the College of Nursing for 15 years, with a focus on health services, policy and Indigenous health. She says receiving support from MCNHR staff like Cepanec allows her to keep her focus on writing, crafting ideas and building relationships.

“All my budgets have been done in collaboration with Diane. She is so seasoned at putting these things together,” Schultz says. “As I tell more junior staff, she has read almost every grant that has gone through the college. She sees what gets funded and want doesn’t. To me that’s invaluable.”

Dr. Donna Martin [BN/91, MN/97], associate dean of graduate programs, also praised the centre’s staff, including James Plohman [B.Sc.(Hons.)/97, M.Sc./00], a research coordinator who has been with the centre for 12 years.

“I remember early on submitting an application to the research ethics board and getting this long response with 24 items I’d need to address before it could be approved. I was beside myself,” Martin says. “I went to the centre and James’ positivity dissipated all of that angst in me.”

In 2015, Martin, who led the MCNHR in 2017-2018, conducted a study in partnership with Little Saskatchewan First Nation, documenting the impact that a flood in 2011 had on the community after half its residents were displaced from their homes. The study received $717,855 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

“The centre really helped with the grant application and providing feedback from earlier drafts, as well as with the dissemination of findings,” she says. “It was an honour to receive that funding, which affirmed that the community’s experience was worthwhile studying and supporting.”

In 2008, the research unit’s name was updated to MCNHR to reflect a growing interest in multidisciplinary health research. Maureen Heaman [BN/78, MN/87, PhD/01], director of the centre from 2006 to 2008, says the name change and refocusing of the centre were the result of a three-year process after a UM senate committee review in 2005.

“We revised the mission, vision and goals and decided to broaden our appeal to researchers and health professionals from disciplines outside of nursing,” she says.

With the updated focus, the centre began offering memberships for those outside the college to access grants and consultative services. Today there are 276 members from across the Rady Faculty colleges, Red River College and Brandon University, as well as professionals from Shared Health, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and beyond.

“Our members come from across the province, North America, and even as far away as Chile,” says Cepanec.

The MCNHR’s core team also doubled from three to six people, and five part-time student research assistant staff have since been added.

The centre has also grown in terms of the programs it offers students. It currently offers support to graduate students through research grants, an annual poster competition as part the Helen Glass Research Symposium, and travel awards to enable students to share their research with larger audiences.

For undergraduates, the MCNHR has a Summer Research Internship Program, founded in 2010, which teams each student with a research mentor on a project that aligns with their interests.

Fourth-year nursing student Sandra Aboh.

In 2020, the program allowed first-time intern Sandra Aboh, a fourth-year bachelor of nursing student originally from Nigeria, a chance to work alongside Roberta Woodgate [BN/89, MN/93, PhD/01], Canada Research Chair in child and family engagement in health research and healthcare, on a project focused on culturally sensitive services for youth.

“Even though we couldn’t work face-to-face because of COVID, I felt very supported by Dr. Woodgate, who was accessible through videoconferencing apps, email and phone,” Aboh says.

In total, 16 student interns worked with 14 mentors in the program this year.

McClement notes that the MCNHR continues to evolve in its support of researchers.

“The future and ongoing development of the centre is really important, and I think there’s some real untapped potential for nursing to enhance industry partnerships and collaborations,” she says.

She points to a project by associate professor Michelle Lobchuk [BN/92, MN/95, PhD/01] to develop a smartphone app that focuses on empathic communication and self-care management as a recent example of this kind of partnership.

“There are lots of ways nursing researchers can engage with people in different sectors,” McClement says.

She also wants to create a climate that will see greater synergy between researchers and other faculty members. “Instructors have a role to play in identifying issues in classroom and clinical teaching that can provide the basis of researchable problems,” she says. “I think we have lots we can learn from each other.”

“Some adjustments had to be made to support students and mentors working remotely, but we are officially underway with a full summer program,” said Diane Cepanec, director of the program, which brings together 16 student researchers and 14 mentors from the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences.

To begin the program in its virtual form, Cepanec facilitated a video conferencing orientation session for all participants that focused on a discussion of roles and expectations setting up an online office and opportunities for training and networking and emphasized the importance of keeping a work routine and maintaining a positive and healthy life-work balance.

“We also discussed connecting as people beyond our formal titles, which is so important and makes a difference in the kind of experience and learning that students have,” she said.

Sidrah Khawaja, a research assistant for her third consecutive summer, said that being connected to her colleagues has been a key part of her success with the program.

“Research is about teamwork and now we’ve been forced into an uncomfortable situation of having to be isolated, but having the support from the MCNHR team and my mentors has made the transition so much easier” she said.

Khawaja, who also has a UM bachelor’s degree in genetics, noted the program has been very important to her since she entered the College of Nursing.

“In my first year, one of my professors noticed I had an interest in research and told me about the program,” she said. “I wouldn’t have known this opportunity existed for students prior to that, and I thought it would be an interesting way to learn more about nursing research. It’s become such a big part of my life now.”

This summer, Khawaja is working with Dr. Donna Martin, associate dean of graduate programs, and assistant professor Dr. Marnie Kramer on an international project led by Dr. Amanda Kenny from LaTrobe University in Australia that focuses on a review of research in nursing education and the impact of how nursing education is constructed.

Khawaja and Naomi Armah, another returning research assistant, gave an online presentation on May 19, welcoming participants and highlighting methods for success while taking part in the program remotely. They said this was especially important for students new to the program.

“We highlighted the need for excellent communication and establishing relationships with your mentors, support staff and colleagues,” Armah said. “Resilience begins in the mind, and once you have that intrinsic motivation, you will be better able to learn, adapt to changes and explore other contextual factors that can support you through the journey.”

Armah, a PhD student in the College of Nursing, is in the program for the fourth time. Over the last few years, she has been involved in multiple projects, including one that led to a published article in the International Journal of Public Health in 2019. This summer, she’s working with Dr. Nicole Harder, Mindermar Professor in Human Simulation, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, on a scoping review of psychological and moral distress in healthcare providers who are involved in the withdrawal of treatments of patients in intensive care settings.

“I have had the opportunity to work on literature reviews, engage in data collection and data analysis, and work on grant and ethics applications. So many opportunities have come my way from working at the MCNHR as a summer intern,” Armah said.

First-time intern Sandra Aboh said she appreciated the online introductory sessions and they helped her feel welcome.

“We got to meet our team and learn about the resources we have. We also had an opportunity to work on schedules and have some coffee time, since we can’t meet on campus anymore,” she said.

A bachelor of nursing student set to enter her fourth year, Aboh moved to Winnipeg from Nigeria in 2017 to study nursing. She previously earned a degree in microbiology from Bowen University in Nigeria.

“I’ve always been interested in research, and as I went through the program I found topics that were of interest, like youth and marginalized populations,” she said.

Aboh received an undergraduate research award to take part in the seminars and work with Dr. Roberta Woodgate, Canada Research Chair in Child and Family Engagement in Health Research and Healthcare, and her team on a project looking into culturally-sensitive services for youth.

“I know this time is different because I can’t just walk up to my mentor, but she is very accessible through video conferencing apps, email and phone, and will answer any question I have,” Aboh said.