People of Georgian: Pandemic highlights nurses’ compassion for associate dean
May 21, 2021
What’s your story?
The Georgian community is full of unique, inspiring perspectives —and we’re sharing them as part of an ongoing series.
People of Georgian: Meet Sara Lankshear
My two children are my greatest accomplishments.
My daughter is a nurse. I’m very proud of her and that she chose nursing.
It’s also a bit of a worry because she’s an ICU nurse in the U.S. She’s unbelievably brave and has gone on two COVID-19 crisis placements to help areas in real need. She was in New York for three months, then she went on to Oregon for three months.
I’m also a proud “Georgian Mom” – my son is a graduate of the Honours Bachelor of Police Studies program and is now a Constable Detective in Halton Region.
I’m so very proud of them both!
‘It’s the nurses who are always there’
The pandemic hasn’t changed my view of nursing, rather I think it’s really highlighted what nurses do and the extent of our impact on the healthcare system.
It really highlights the struggles, too. The physical, mental, and emotional toll of providing care in a very stressful and complex environment.
I think it was fitting that the theme for Nursing Week 2021 was We Answer the Call. Those words have never been truer than this past year.
Nurses have experienced a lot, sometimes being in the room when families are saying their goodbyes to a loved one over the phone or FaceTime.
It’s the nurses who are always there.
‘Students feel a greater connection to the community’
Being a part of nursing at Georgian is very special because we are so connected to our communities.
Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH), a large community health centre that’s next-door to our Barrie Campus, is there to serve its communities, and it actually knows the needs of those communities.
We have the same benefit in Owen Sound with our partnership with Grey Bruce Health System and the many health-care agencies in the area.
Students feel a greater connection to the community because they’re working in these community centres.
They get a greater sense of what their contribution is versus being in a large, urban health-care centre far from home.
We want to enable as many people as possible who dream about becoming a registered nurse, and they can now do it in their own community.
Sara Lankshear, Associate Dean, Nursing Degree Programs at Georgian.
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