Yellowknife (May 16/03) - Anna Tumchewics' day doesn't start in a hospital or a clinic, like most nurses.

It starts in her car, which holds a day's worth of medical supplies and a list of people she needs to visit as part of her daily routine as a home care registered nurse.

"The kind of nursing we do here reflects the population of Yellowknife. We see all the culture in Yellowknife and that's interesting," she said.

May 12 to 18 is Nursing Week and communities across the territory are recognizing Northern nurses as "At the heart of health care."

Nurses are also at the heart of a community.

Tumchewics works as part of a home care team at Yellowknife Health and Social Services. She visits between five and eight people a day to change dressings, administer medication, change IVs and provide the necessary education and support each client needs.

"As home care nurses we get to really value (our clients) ... It always amazes me how people get along with whatever problems they have."

Like Tumchewics, Rebecca Getzinger loves the personal aspect of her job as a licensed practical nurse at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

"I enjoy taking care of people. I get a lot of satisfaction from that."

Unlike Stanton's registered nurses, LPNs don't work shifts and they don't manage the ward. Their entire focus is patient care.

"There seems to be a lot of sickness and we are a part of the bigger picture in making that person better.

"Doctors don't have the time to do one on one. The nurse's role is helping people through those times."

She spends her days making clients comfortable physically and psychologically.

City's first nurse practitioner

Kathleen Matthews is breaking new ground as one of four nurse practitioners in the territory. Matthews has been working at Great Slave Medical Clinic in Yellowknife since December 2002. Like a doctor, she sees patients, diagnoses common ailments and monitors chronic illnesses.

"It's a wonderful job," smiled Matthews. "I get to see a real variety of people and no two things in my day are ever the same."

She said she gets a fairly "positive" reaction from people who are used to seeing a doctor. "I'm taking pressure off the system by providing this service," she said. "I'm here to spend extra time with patients who need it. It's far more resource efficient to have me spend time with someone who needs patient education."