Morgado Thomas is a proud Cree and Portuguese woman, and her spirit name is Chief Mountain Woman. Her father is from Norway House Cree Nation, and while she was raised in Winnipeg, she’s always felt a strong connection to her Cree roots and community. Morgado Thomas carries her identity and culture with pride, and strives to reflect that in everything she does, especially in her journey through nursing.

In this Q&A, she opens up about her experiences as an Indigenous nursing student, the challenges she’s overcome and her advice for students thinking about nursing or the health-care field.

What inspired you to pursue a career in nursing, and how did you become involved in the PINE program?

My inspiration to become a nurse started when I worked as a support worker with the Awasis Agency of Northern Manitoba. I had the opportunity to work closely with a young girl who was receiving care at Health Sciences Centre.

The time I spent with her, and seeing her smile even in the hospital setting, touched me deeply. It showed me the power of compassion, presence and care. It also made me aware of the many challenges Indigenous people face in the health-care system, including discrimination and lack of culturally safe care. I wanted to be part of the change.

Becoming involved in the PINE program was a natural next step. I had no doubt about it when applying. It’s been a space where I feel supported, connected and seen, not just as a student, but as an Indigenous future nurse with lived experience and purpose.

How has being part of the PINE program impacted your student experience?

Being part of the PINE program has been incredibly grounding and empowering. Nursing school is challenging and having a community like PINE has made a huge difference.

It’s not just about academic support, it’s about connection, mentorship and sharing stories with others who understand what it means to walk in two worlds.

The program has helped me stay connected to my culture while navigating me to the right direction, and it’s also given me confidence in my voice as an Indigenous nursing student.

Kaydence poses for a mirror-selfie in her nursing scrubs

Can you share a moment from your nursing journey that made you feel proud or reaffirmed your choice to pursue this path?

One moment that really stood out to me was during a clinical placement where I had the opportunity to care for a patient who was feeling very anxious and overwhelmed. I took the time to sit with them, listen to their concerns and just be present in a way that felt natural and caring.

Over the course of the shift, we built a connection and by the end of it, they told me how much more comfortable and safer they felt because of how I treated them.

They even asked if I could be their nurse again. That meant the world to me. It reminded me of why I chose nursing in the first place. To make people feel seen, heard and respected, especially when they’re at their most vulnerable. Moments like that reaffirm that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.

What advice would you give to other Indigenous students who are thinking about entering nursing or health care?

My advice would be to not let anyone tell you that you don’t belong. You do belong. Our communities need you. Our people need you.

Nursing school can be hard, but you are never alone. Lean into your culture, your community and programs like PINE that are there to lift you up.

Your lived experiences, your identity and your heart are strengths, not barriers. And most importantly, always remember your “why” as it will guide you through.

Anything else you’d like to share?

As an Indigenous student, there were times when I questioned if I truly belonged, if I was good enough, smart enough or even “Indigenous enough” to be part of a program like PINE.

Those doubts were heavy at times, especially navigating a space that wasn’t always built with us in mind. But through conversations with Elders, peers and the amazing staff at PINE, I started to see myself differently.

They reminded me that identity isn’t something we have to prove, it’s something we carry in our hearts, in our stories and in the way we walk in this world.

I’ve learned to be proud of who I am, where I come from and where I’m going. And, I want other Indigenous students to know you are more than enough, just as you.

Morgado Thomas is currently completing her final clinical placement at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, Inc. (Ma Mawi) and is looking forward to completing practicum this fall in Norway House Cree Nation.

One UM subject, Food science and technology, also broke the global top 100 this year, a significant achievement. ShanghaiRanking annually evaluates more than 5,000 universities worldwide and includes the University of Manitoba as one of 1,900 universities from across 104 countries on its top-ranked list.

Placing 45th worldwide, Food science and technology moves up from last year’s 101-150 placement. The subject ranks second in Canada, up from sixth last year, and is UM’s highest subject ranking nationally and globally.

It is one of three UM subjects that rank in the national top five. Dentistry and oral sciences, along with biological sciences (up from 14th last year), both rank fifth nationally and in the top 101-150 globally.

“We are delighted by our increased rankings due to the impressive performance of UM researchers, with one UM subject now ranking in the global top 100, and virtually doubling UM subjects in the national top 10 and top five,” says Vice-President (Research and international) Dr. Mario Pinto.

Other UM subjects on national top 10 lists include: human biological sciences and agricultural sciences, both ranking seventh (up from 11th and 12th, respectively); nursing, pharmacy and oceanography, all ranking at ninth; and telecommunications engineering, which broke this year’s top 10 (up from 12th in 2023).

Several subjects place just outside of the top ten. Both math and public health rank eleventh nationally, with public health up from thirteenth last year. Atmospheric science and clinical medicine both rank thirteenth.

The global list evaluates 55 subjects; ranking factors include research output, research influence, international collaboration, research quality and international academic awards.

Rankings: UM research excellence and impact

Vice-President (Research and international) Dr. Mario Pinto notes that increasing UM rankings is identified as a goal of the new Strategic Research Plan, launched earlier this year. Change through Research highlights how UM researchers are bringing creative solutions to local and global challenges, resulting in greater positive impact and increased external profile.

“These new rankings in the 2024 report speak to the commitment to research excellence at UM and reflect our strategic focus on measuring success and increasing external recognition,” Pinto says.

Through UM’s many academic and research-intensive programs, our researchers and student-researchers are having an indelible impact on our world, tackling complex problems such as infectious diseases, Arctic research, climate change, global public health, human rights, social justice and sustainability.

As Manitoba’s largest and most research-intensive university, UM offers more than 100 programs of study, the most of any post-secondary institution in Manitoba. The quality, diversity and breadth of UM programs make it a competitive option nationally and internationally.

The ceremony, emceed by College of Nursing dean Dr. Netha Dyck, included remarks by Minister of Health Uzoma Asagwara, grandmother-in-residence Sherry Copenace, and Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba executive director Joyce Kristjansson. Dr. Lisa Monkman performed an honour song. 

“The pinning ceremony is not just a time-honoured tradition, but a rite of passage that has been cherished in the nursing community for over a century. It symbolizes not only your academic success, but your commitment to the values, responsibilities and code of ethics of the nursing profession,” Dyck told the 2024 graduating class.  

After receiving their pins, the graduands recited the UM Bachelor of Nursing Pledge, which was inspired by the 1893 Florence Nightingale Pledge and has been adapted by the university. 

Among the graduates was Behnam Behboodinejad, who moved to Winnipeg from Iran with his sisters in 2017. He comes from a family of health-care professionals, and will be working at St. Boniface Hospital, where he completed his last clinical rotation.   

Behboodinejad said one of the highlights of the program was during a clinical rotation when he cared for a patient post-surgery and got to see her progression over the next few days. 

“For me, to see that while caring for her and getting to know her family members was one of the most hopeful moments in my life.” 

He said he is interested in returning to UM to pursue a master’s degree in nursing after gaining some clinical experience. 

Behboodinejad was one of two valedictorians, along with Parneet Kaur, who moved from India to Winnipeg in 2019. She loves working with kids and is looking forward to working in pediatric intensive care. 

The Fall Class of 2024 also had 12 Indigenous graduates, including Justice Spence, who praised the college’s Mahkwa omushki kiim: Pathway to Indigenous Nursing Education (PINE) initiative, which supports First Nations, Métis and Inuit students in, or preparing to enter, the bachelor of nursing program. 

“PINE meant a lot to me on my nursing journey. The tutoring and having our own skills lab made me a lot more comfortable. I think that really contributed to my success because I didn’t always feel safe in the space with everyone else, but I felt very comfortable coming to PINE and working in those spaces,” she said. 

Spence is looking forward to working in emergency at Thompson General Hospital, where she recently completed her practicum. She is also interested in returning to PINE one day to work with future Indigenous nursing students. 

“The students in PINE really understand the meaning of family.” 

At Convocation, the college also had 20 graduates from its master’s program, including 17 from the nurse practitioner stream, and one from its PhD in Nursing program. 

Kristen Valeri

Kristen Valeri is UM’s newest nursing PhD graduate. She has over 30 years of nursing experience in Manitoba, including 10 years as a front-line care worker and 10 years as a first-line manager. Currently she is an executive director for provincial patient safety quality and accreditation at Shared Health.  

Valeri’s thesis was on first-line managers’ perspectives on employee engagement, active disengagement and burnout through the COVID-19 pandemic. She said managers at this level have been identified as key to improving employee engagement; however there is not a lot of research from the perspective of first-line managers. 

“There are lots of benefits to staff engagement – it means better care for patients, a better work environment for staff and numerous better outcomes for organizations, including an increase in staff retention.” 

The mother of two said she’s thankful that the program allowed her to earn her PhD in her home province. 

PINE offers academic, personal and cultural support to help First Nations, Métis and Inuit students prepare for and succeed in the bachelor of nursing program. The 900-square-foot lounge gives Indigenous students a space of their own to study, socialize and relax. 

Just outside the lounge, there is a medicine garden where, earlier this year, PINE staff and students planted seven sage plants, 21 tobacco plants, two cedar bushes, a strawberry bush and one wild mint and rhubarb bush. All the plants and medicines will be for PINE student use. 

Lauressa Garson, PINE coordinator and education coach, said the garden will be expanded next year to include a full vegetable and fruit garden and more medicines.  

“This will allow PINE to have more food sustainability for our students, as many still face food insecurity. It can be a source for all PINE students both pre-nursing and nursing alike to more food sustainability,” Garson said. 

“Students have taken pride in watching the fruits of their volunteerism in helping to plant, weed and learn about the medicines.” 

Garson, who calls Tataskweyak Cree Nation home, is a UM bachelor of nursing grad from 2019. She said the space is now properly ventilated for smudging. 

“As smudging can be very personal and students may want to do so alone, we want to offer them the ability to do so whenever they need,” she said. 

“As a student that only had one place to go, I can understand what it means for students to have full-time access to cultural strengths and supports, as some may not have access otherwise.” 

Tobacco leaves harvested from the PINE medicine garden hang in the student lounge.

Justice Spence, who recently completed her senior practicum in emergency at Thompson General Hospital, said the space is a welcome addition for Indigenous students. 

“This lounge is really valuable because, honestly, it’s hard to be an Indigenous student in a Western institution. I feel like I struggled with it throughout my whole university experience,” Spence said. “This is somewhere I can feel safe and comfortable, compared to any of the other lounges in the building. I can just be who I am because everyone else understands what I’m going through in that space.” 

Prior to a ribbon cutting, a ceremony was held in the Helen Glass Centre for Nursing atrium, where a new mural by Anishinaabe artist Blake Angeconeb was also celebrated.   

Angeconeb is a Winnipeg artist who is a member of Lac Seul First Nation in Ontario. He also created a beautiful mural at the Brodie Centre atrium at Bannatyne campus. The mural at Helen Glass is based on the themes of caring, healing and transformation in one’s nursing journey.  It also includes imagery of bears, which ties back to PINE, as part of the name, Mahkwa omushki kiim, means “bear medicine” when translated from Ojibway. 

College of Nursing dean Dr. Netha Dyck said Angeconeb created the stunning 52-foot mural over a two-week span, painting directly onto wood panels affixed on the atrium’s east wall.  

“It was amazing to see him work,” Dyck said. “This new Indigenous art mural is a beautiful addition to our atrium, enriching our space with warmth, familiarity and a strong sense of belonging for Indigenous students.” 

Brenda Longclaws, Knowledge Keeper at the College of Nursing, said the mural serves as a powerful symbol of cultural awareness and reconciliation. 

“It really adds to the beauty of the college, but I think the significance lies in the fact that it is a piece of Indigenous artwork, and we need to start having more of that reflected at the University of Manitoba.” 

Instead, she enrolled in the College of Nursing’s master’s program, with hopes to improve the province’s rural health-care system. 

Wilcox currently lives in Treherne, Man., about 120 kilometers southwest of Winnipeg, and just north of Cypress River, where she grew up. 

UM Today spoke with Wilcox about her decision to return to UM and her thesis. 

What got you interested in nursing? 

Helping people has always been part of my life. I’m from a farm background, so it’s kind of in my blood and innate. I went into nursing on a bit of a whim. I was in the second year of my science undergrad degree, but I wasn’t enjoying it. So, then I went into nursing and I loved it, and I stayed. It might sound cheesy, but I sometimes think nursing chose me more than I chose it at the beginning, and now it’s the other way around. 

You received $20,000 in funding from Research Manitoba for your project titled Rural Nurse Leader Perceptions of Practice Environment Empowerment Structures. How does it feel to be recognized in this way? 

Being awarded this funding has been an honour. To be recognized by Research Manitoba for my nursing research and bringing awareness to Manitoba’s rural health care is truly fulfilling. It reassures me that I am where I am supposed to be. 

Can you describe your research and why you see it as important? 

I’m aiming to investigate rural nursing leaders, to understand their organizational structures. The number of nurses in rural Manitoba is always decreasing due to workplace stress, dissatisfaction and those kinds of issues. Empowered nursing leadership is important to improve our current work environments. Our leaders play a significant role in creating those positive work environments, which in turn has an impact on rural nursing retention and recruitment and ultimately quality of patient care. 

I’m hoping this research will provide some insight into possible systemic changes that need to occur and provide our nursing leaders with support. We need to have people in leadership positions who are thriving and inspiring other nurses, especially our new graduates and older nurses who are retiring. At the end of the day, nurses love their jobs. In my career, I have yet to meet a nurse who is doing their job for the money. They are nursing because they love people and want to see them thrive and survive.  

What got you interested in this area of research? 

I’ve been a nurse for about 10 years now. COVID complicated a lot of things. After my maternity leave, I knew in my soul that I didn’t want to go back and provide suboptimal care to patients. I was burnt out during the pandemic and had some personal health issues. I couldn’t keep working in the environment the way it was, and I wanted to hopefully elicit positive systemic change. I felt that the best way I could do that was to go back to graduate school, apply myself in an educational context and dedicate myself to facilitate positive changes in our health-care system in Manitoba, more specifically for our rural residents. They are more challenged accessing the same health care as their urban counterparts. 

What is next for you? 

I’m not sure yet. Coming into this, I was set on getting my master’s and then hopefully get into some form of policy development or workforce employment. But there has been some discussion with Dr. Judith Scanlan, my advisor, about going the PhD route with my thesis. That is intriguing to me, and I haven’t closed the book on that opportunity.  

This Q&A is part of a series on UM Today featuring Rady Faculty of Health Sciences graduate students. You can find more grad student profiles here: #Radygradstudents.

The study, Moving upstream: Integrating a palliative approach into dementia care, will involve up to eight long-term care homes in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, as well as Alzheimer’s Society members in those provinces and Alberta.   

Thompson, who holds a UM research chair in person-directed living, supported through Riverview Health Centre and the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, said the study will ensure early conversations about the nature and progression of dementia, defining essential decision-making points and discussions about changing care needs as the disease progresses. 

She said that within the long-term care environment, these discussions often occur late, both in terms of the stage of illness and proximity to death. 

Genevieve Thompson

“We often think of it [dementia] as just a brain disease, but the brain controls all our functions. We tend to think of it as memory loss, but there’s a whole host of other things that go along with dementia, and they’re fairly predictable for most people, like changes with swallowing or the ability to get up and walk,” she said. 

“(CIHR was) looking for projects that already had provided some evidence of effectiveness and could be scaled up.” 

The study builds upon the Strengthening Palliative Approach to Care in Long-Term Care (SPA-LTC) program, a national initiative led by Dr. Sharon Kaasalainen at McMaster University and a team of four researchers, including Thompson. The initiative began in 2015, adapting tools and resources to be focused specifically on dementia care.  

Thompson said pilot work and randomized controlled trials found that the SPA-LTC program decreased emergency visits in the months leading up to a person’s death. 

“It provides care that coincides with the wishes and goals of residents, improved family care partner experience, and grief and bereavement support along with staff feeling more empowered in the provision of a palliative approach to care.”   

Components of the project will include the development of “champions” in each of the settings – people who are already seen as go-to contacts and who are comfortable talking about palliative approaches – education, family meetings and the distribution of illness-specific pamphlets and other materials.  

“We’re also developing a comfort care booklet with options for a person living with advanced dementia. It will provide care options and opportunities to actively participate in decision-making.” 

Thompson hopes the program will be picked up nationally following the three-year study. She would like to see a dementia-specific portal on the SPA-LTC website.  

“We’ve had buy-in from Alzheimer’s Canada to say this is a really important topic and project, so we could develop a model with this toolkit that other coordinators could then use.  

Brandt, who identifies as queer, grew up on a farm outside of Blumenort, Man. with a passion for arts and photography. He spent a few years working as a health care aide and was inspired by the nurses he worked with and his older sister to enter the nursing profession.

After receiving a bachelor’s degree from Red River College, he worked for three years in emergency nursing in Winnipeg before deciding to pursue graduate studies. He joined the master’s program in 2021, with a focus on its clinical stream, and continues to work part time as an emergency nurse. 

UM Today spoke with Brandt to learn about what motivates him and their experience as a master’s student at UM. 

Can you describe your research and why you see it as important? 

I am exploring two research questions with my thesis. Broadly, what are the experiences of nurses who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ in providing nursing care in Winnipeg? And how do nurses who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ that I interview think their identity affects their practice?  

In grad school, I worked on a project looking at the history of queer and trans nurses. And it felt like I was uncovering this unwritten history, or this rich history, about queer and trans nurses within the profession that I hadn’t known about before. So, I think listening to the experiences of nurses who are 2SLGBTQIA+, will have really meaningful implications for why we need increased diversity within curriculum and the workplace.  

What got you interested in this topic? 

I saw a stark contrast between my undergraduate nursing education and working in clinical practice. In my undergraduate education, I did not see people who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ in the curriculum, student body or faculty. Yet in clinical practice, I met nurses who were strong allies for their patients and colleagues who identified as 2SLGBTQIA+, and also met nurses who identified as 2SLGBTQIA+. This caused me to delve into the history of experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ nurses, which I found research lacks in, and I wanted to fill that gap with my own research. 

My experiences working as a nurse, experiencing and witnessing homophobia, transphobia, heteronormativity and cisnormativity, inspired me to research if other nurses have similar experiences and ultimately create positive change within the profession and patients. 

You received $20,000 funding from Research Manitoba for your project titled The Lived Experiences of Nurses Who Identify as 2SLGBTQIA+ in Providing Nursing Care Within an Urban Prairie Setting: An Interpretive Descriptive Study. How did it feel to be recognized in this way?  

Receiving funding from Research Manitoba was validation that my research is needed within health care. It is an honour and bolsters my confidence that I am the right person to do this work. I often think about the phrase “nothing about us, without us,” which applies to my identity being an asset in doing research with nurses who identify as 2SLGBTQIA+. 

What are your future plans? 

I went into the program thinking I wanted to be a clinical nurse specialist. I recognize that there are not very many clinical nurse specialist jobs in Manitoba, but hopefully that can change. I would love to see a specific clinical nurse specialist position for 2SLGBTQIA+ patients to help navigate the system and provide specialized care, so that’s an option. I didn’t think of myself as a leader, or the possibility of working in leadership, but now that is a possibility. And also furthering my studies – I never imagined myself getting a nursing degree, never mind a master of nursing degree, so doctoral studies is an option as well. 

This Q&A is part of a series on UM Today featuring Rady Faculty of Health Sciences graduate students. You can find more grad student profiles here: #Radygradstudents.

She is working toward wider acceptance in the health sciences of art as a vehicle for research participants to express themselves, and for researchers to disseminate findings.

“Research evidence can be difficult to understand and is sometimes presented in ways that aren’t very engaging,” she says. “It can also touch on topics of a sensitive nature. Art is a great way to communicate complex scientific research findings because people learn and experience things in different ways.”

Archibald grew up in Edmonton and started her working life as a full-time artist in various media, including oil painting, sculpture and film. In 2003, she took a college anatomy course, aiming to improve her drawing skills.

“That’s what first got me interested in nursing as a career,” she remembers.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Alberta, she worked for a few years as a pediatric nurse. She then entered the U of A master’s program with an eye to becoming a nurse practitioner, but switched to the doctoral program at the urging of her advisor, UM alum Dr. Shannon Scott [BN/94, MN/98].

“She knew I had an arts background and saw the potential for me to bring my interests together,” Archibald says.

After earning her PhD in 2016, Archibald spent three years at the University of Adelaide in Australia as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) postdoctoral fellow. There she co-created a multimedia art exhibition based on research that explored older adults’ perspectives on frailty.

One of the works, titled (Dis)Repair, was an installation made from smashed ceramic teacups that were imperfectly glued back together and suspended in the air as a group. The piece evoked a sense of resilience, recovery and community, speaking in a very different “voice” than a research paper would have. 

Archibald joined the UM nursing faculty in 2019 and is also a researcher with the Children’s Hospital Research Institute of Manitoba (CHRIM).

She has published articles about arts-based health research in journals such as the International Review of Qualitative Research, BMC Pediatrics and the International Journal of Qualitative Methods.

In the latter, she and her co-author wrote: “Arts-based health research offers unique opportunities to integrate evidence of patients’ lived experience with other forms of research evidence to improve understanding and knowledge translation.”

Archibald’s current work is largely focused on arts-based research through “living labs.”

“Living labs are a diverse concept. The idea comes from the European vision of ‘smart homes’ that support aging-in-place initiatives. We have adapted them for use as knowledge-exchange platforms for families navigating the complexities of chronic illness and disability.”

Specialized Services for Children and Youth, a Winnipeg facility that serves children with disabilities and special needs, has partnered in a ‘living lab’ research project led by Dr. Mandy Archibald. The children’s family members are encouraged to submit stories about their experiences to an online repository.

One of her virtual labs was established in partnership with Specialized Services for Children and Youth, a Winnipeg facility that serves children with disabilities and special needs. The project received a Rady Innovation Grant from UM, as well as funding from the George and Fay Yee Centre for Healthcare Innovation and Research Manitoba. 

The virtual lab is a place for family members of children with neurodiversity to chronicle their lived experiences in an online story repository.

Archibald aims to have 30 to 40 family members take part by submitting stories monthly. The stories contributed so far include a mother’s reflections on struggling to get her largely non-verbal child dressed for winter and a father’s account of his challenges with improving his son’s co-ordination so he can participate in the sports that he loves.

“The stories reflect how parents navigate the often-invisible challenges of day-to-day life, what has helped them overcome these challenges, and what their key lesson was,” Archibald says. 

After the six-month data collection period, the living lab’s research team will communicate these narratives (without identifying personal details) through potential media such as interactive illustrated storybooks, research-based theatrical performances, animated whiteboards or documentary films.

“Determining the best medium is based on what we’re trying to communicate, the audience, the capacity of the artistic form, and input from those with lived experience,” the professor says.

Archibald was honoured with the 2022 Terry G. Falconer Memorial Rh Institute Foundation Emerging Researcher Award in the health sciences category, recognizing her research to improve the care of youth and families with chronic illness and disabilities.

She currently has significant funding for two projects based at CHRIM, both involving arts-based approaches and the living lab concept.

One of the projects, supported by $300,000 from the Sick Kids Foundation and the CIHR, involves creating an interactive online platform for kids, teens and young adults with youth-onset Type 2 diabetes.

The project aims to have 50 youth respond to questions about their mental health and wellness needs and experiences. They’re also asked to submit an artwork, such as a drawing, to further illustrate their responses. The team will then collaborate on creative ways to communicate the resulting insights.

Creatively sharing the stories gathered through living labs amplifies participants’ voices and helps them connect with others, Archibald says.

“It also gives us an opportunity to impact how research is done, and to influence how care is provided. Reflecting families’ experiences is so critical.”

“In India, there weren’t a lot of men who went into nursing,” he recalls. “And I never thought I’d go into education, because I was not very outgoing.”

Venkatesh had been studying mechanical engineering in India, but he knew it wasn’t the right fit. At age 22 he moved to Winnipeg, joining his older brother, Raj.

He enrolled at Fort Richmond Collegiate to learn the Canadian curriculum while deciding on his next steps. He was encouraged by his principal to tutor other students, one of whom had a sister who was studying nursing. He quickly found himself drawn to her textbooks.

“I discovered I really liked being a mentor, but that I also loved reading about anatomy and physiology.”

Venkatesh enrolled at the St. Boniface General Hospital School of Nursing in 1973. Inspired by his instructors, he decided he wanted to teach nursing, so he entered the bachelor of nursing program at the University of Windsor.

“I learned a method of teaching and storytelling where the students are led to answers by challenging them with relevant sequential questions. It’s the best way to develop critical thinking.”

In 1980, Venkatesh joined the Misericordia General Hospital School of Nursing, where he worked for the next 17 years. During this time, he also obtained his master’s in nursing at UM.

By 1995, he was vice-president in charge of education at Misericordia. But in the 1990s, the province was shutting down diploma nursing programs in favour of degree programs. When the Misericordia school closed in 1997, he could have stayed on in an administrative position, but opted to become a lecturer at UM instead.

“The pay scales were not comparable, but teaching is what I love,” he says.

His proud accomplishments at UM included establishing an elective nursing course in men’s health and promoting men’s health in the community, for which he won an Outreach Award from the university in 2011.

He had become interested in men’s health issues while supervising students caring for urology patients at Misericordia. His master’s thesis was on the effect of prostate cancer and its treatment on sexuality.

“Men aren’t traditionally very good at taking care of their own health – the prevention side of it. So, advocacy for men’s health has always been important to me.”

Venkatesh was a member of the university’s alumni board from 2009 to 2012 and served as its UM senate representative for two years. He retired in 2013.

Last year, he donated a bladder scanner to the College of Nursing’s simulation lab. “I saw this as something practical to help students develop competence and expertise in that area,” he says.

He and his wife, nursing alum Patrice Yamada [BN/75], have long supported the university, including the establishment of a bursary for students in the peace and conflict studies program in the Faculty of Arts.

“Giving back is an important thing to us,” he says. “It was a privilege to teach at the university. It is a temple of knowledge and learning that has given me so much. Showing respect to that is absolutely crucial.”

The event was held at the Pinnacle Club at Princess Auto Stadium. The graduates had their convocation the following day at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The bachelor of midwifery program was launched by the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences in September 2021. There are currently 20 students enrolled, including three Indigenous students. Ten students are expected to graduate next year.

The midwifery grads wore red shoes to signify ‘standing out from the crowd’ and advocacy for women’s rights.

“Having this program reduces the need for Manitobans to travel outside of the province to pursue studies in midwifery. We hope to see our graduates working within the province and to see the profession grow,” program director Fleur McEvoy said.

Brooke-Lyn Wahoski, Emily Howarth and Laura Warkentin were the first graduates to wear UM degree hoods for midwifery. They also each wore red shoes, a tradition among midwifery graduates in Canada.

“Red signifies standing out from the crowd and advocacy for women’s rights,” said Warkentin, valedictorian for the midwifery Class of 2024.

Howarth called the program “rigorous but rewarding.” She had previously been working toward an accounting degree at UM, but during the COVID-19 pandemic she felt unsatisfied and started looking for a new career choice. As soon as she discovered midwifery, she knew it was for her.

“We spend a lot of time with our clients and get to build relationships with them, which is amazing,” Howarth said.

Wahoski said she considered a career in nursing before she learned about the program.

“Midwifery wasn’t really talked about when I was growing up. When I heard about the program coming to Manitoba, I thought it aligned with my values and I felt it was the missing piece I was searching for,” she said. “It’s an important line of work and creates a safe space for pregnant people and their families.”

Kareena Ricafort

The ceremony was emceed by College of Nursing dean Dr. Netha Dyck. Speakers included MLA Uzoma Asagwara, Indigenous Elder Margaret Lavallee and Association of Regulated Nurses of Manitoba executive director Joyce Kristjansson.

Video greetings were provided by Rady Faculty of Health Sciences dean Dr. Peter Nickerson, UM President and Vice-Chancellor Michael Benarroch and Tracy Mullet, president of the Midwives Association of Manitoba.

An honour song was performed by Dr. Lisa Monkman.

Dyck congratulated the new midwives and nurses, who she said showed great resilience beginning their journeys in the middle of a pandemic.

Nursing graduate Kareena Ricafort said the pandemic was particularly challenging for her. Her father is also a nurse and they had to take extra precautions while she was on her clinical placements.

“We had to seclude ourselves from each other at home. We’d take turns living in the basement and have to use different washrooms, because of the different protocols where we were working. You couldn’t have two people living together working in hospitals,” she said.

Eunice Custodio

Eunice Custodio, also from nursing, said she is the first of her family to go into health care. She said she felt “even more needed” starting the program during the pandemic.

“You see in the news that nurses and people in health care are the heroes of today’s society, and that’s really quite amazing,” she said.

Jessica Angus was one of eight Indigenous graduates and the first nursing valedictorian from the college’s Mahkwa omushki kiim: Pathway to Indigenous Nursing Education (PINE) program. She will be working in emergency and hopes to one day work in community care.

“I hope to be able to bring everything in together and really represent my community, as being Indigenous as well as female,” she said. 

At the ceremony, the new nursing graduands recited the UM Bachelor of Nursing Pledge, which was inspired by the 1893 Florence Nightingale Pledge and has been adapted by the university.