CLASSIFIEDSADVERTISINGSPECIAL ISSUESSPORTSOBITUARIESNORTHERN JOBSTENDERS

NNSL Photo/Graphic


Canadian North

Home page text size buttonsbigger textsmall textText size Email this articleE-mail this page

Dedication to care recognized
Yellowknife nurse awarded for 35-year career

Lyndsay Herman
Northern News Services
Published Friday, May 17, 2013

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Anna Tumchewics knew nursing was her calling while working as a nurse's aid during high school in Ontario, and was drawn to the North nearly as early.

She moved to Yellowknife in 1980.

NNSL photo/graphic

Anna Tumchewics (left), joined by federal Minister of Health Leona Aglukkak, displays her award. - Teckles Photography Inc. photo

"I don't think I realized it at the time, but I probably was interested in being challenged by a different environment and also by searching for excellence in nursing, doing the very best that you could possibly do in nursing," she said, describing what attracted her to Northern Canada. "You're trying to do your best or know the most and aspire to help people the very best I could."

Last month, Tumchewics was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal by the Canadian Nurses Association for her work.

"It's very humbling and very gratifying to get an award like that, but really I accept it on behalf of all the nurses, especially in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut," she said.

After high school, Tumchewics completed a degree in nursing at the University of Toronto. A degree in nursing was uncommon at the time but recommended for nurses who wanted to work in remote locations, such as the NWT or Nunavut, she said.

Tumchewics also completed a diploma in outpost nursing through Dalhousie University.

The extra education honed her assessment skills so she could create detailed descriptions of a patient's condition, she said. The skill was useful when she was faced with unfamiliar cases in remote areas and sought assistance from doctors or nurses in other locations.

Now a nurse with 35 years of experience in the NWT and Nunavut, Tumchewics has worked in remote areas, on medical evacuation flights, emergency wards, surgical wards, and obstetrics, to name a few.

She also taught a nursing refresher course offered at Aurora College before the degree program was instated and volunteered with the Registered Nurses Association of the NWT and Nunavut from 1984 to 2006. Her volunteer work included time as the association's president and work on national committees.

Tumchewics is currently the enterostomal therapist for the GNWT based in Yellowknife, a position created two years ago after she completed a certificate in enterostomal therapy. Her position supports health-care professionals who care for people with chronic wounds, problems urinating or problems with bowel movements.

"(After working in home care) I knew I needed to know more to look after people with chronic wounds and ostomies, so I eventually took a certificate in enterostomal therapy," she said.

"(This position) reflects part of what nursing is all about - continuous caring and continuous learning."

E-mailWe welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.