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TUKTOYAKTUK -A nurse who has dedicated much of her professional career to caring for Northerners received a national award for her efforts earlier this month.

Judy Wilson is the nurse in-charge at the Rosie Ovayuk Health Centre in Tuktoyaktuk - a four-nurse facility in the community of 1,000 people. Born in Fort Churchill, Man., the nurse of 31 years is on her third tour of the North.

Leona Aglukkaq, federal Minister of Health, left, presented the First Nations and Inuit National Award of Excellence in Nursing to Judy Wilson of Tuktoyaktuk, centre. Elizabeth Ford, right, is health and environment director for Inuit Tapariit Kanatami. - photo courtesy of Judy Wilson

"The rewards are incredible," Wilson said, adding she feels spoiled compared to working in southern facilities. "The autonomy we have there and the ability to be a part of a community is great.

"I love practising. I love my job. It's so rare to have a job that you can learn something every day. I'm challenged in every way. It's great from a professional point of view."

Dedicated to providing quality health care, she received the National Award of Excellence in Nursing for First Nations and Inuit communities. The ceremony took place at the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Que., as part of National Nursing Week, May 11 to 15.

"I was very surprised," she said of winning the award. "I knew I was nominated but never for a moment thought I'd win. It came as a lovely surprise. It's a privilege and an honour."

A jack of all trades, Wilson works in acute care and delivers a variety of public health care programs which she considers extremely important to the overall health of the community.

"We're seeing more people who are diabetic and people are living longer, so we're seeing more people with certain health issues like heart disease," she said. "Those programs are absolutely essential because if you can prevent these things from happening and you can give people the education and control, it makes a huge difference."

Presented with the award by Federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, Wilson doesn't take full credit for her success. She said the support staff is the backbone of the health center and her personal success.

"They don't get the recognition and attention that they should get," she said. "When I look at the people we have, they've been there for years and years. Nurses come and go, but they keep it together. They know the community. If I'm wondering about something, or how to get a hold of someone, I know I can ask them."

Wilson trained in midwifery in Britain with the help of the Judy Hill Memorial scholarship, named for a nurse who was working in Taloyoak and died in the early 1970s when the medevac flight she was on crashed. One stipulation of the scholarship was to return to the North to work.

"I get to know the people in the community," she said. "I get to see people over time and know them on a personal level as well as a professional level. I love the diversity and variety of the job, I just wish there wasn't so much of it at times.

"I think I love being challenged. I love learning new things all the time. I like living in a small community."