Lesley MacMaster, Honours Bachelor of Science - Nursing (BScN)

Lesley MacMaster

RN, BNSc, MScN
Professor, Honours Bachelor of Science – Nursing


Biography

Lesley MacMaster has over 30 years of experience in nursing practice. She has dedicated the second half of her career to the education of undergraduate nursing students in a multitude of settings, including classroom, clinical, laboratory, simulation and more recently, virtual settings.

Lesley has taught many of the courses in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) curriculum, but her area of expertise is in medical-surgical theory and clinical courses.

Lesley’s passion for education began in the late 1990s, while sharing her knowledge and expertise with nurses through her roles as clinical nurse educator and professional practice leader at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. Under the early career transformational leadership of Dr. Rosemarie Rizzo Parse and Dr. Gail Mitchell, Lesley was inspired to pursue a different vision for nursing; this human science-based vision has brought focus, passion and direction to her nursing career.

Lesley encourages students to remain in touch after graduation and gains deep personal and professional satisfaction on hearing back from them regarding their advanced educational endeavours, career successes and contributions to the discipline of nursing.

Lesley has contributed as adapting author to the Canadian publication of the book Think Like a Nurse: The Caputi Method for Learning Clinical Judgment. Learn more about the book.

Just as nursing is a journey of privilege, so too is the challenge-reward, of teaching the art-science of nursing. My goal is always that my students will have deep exposure to human-science based theoretical perspectives that resonate deeply, enabling them to navigate the increasing complexities of our healthcare environments, enveloped by emerging technologies, societal change, inequity and human suffering, to traverse the detours and hazards that threaten health outcomes and to seize the opportunity and privilege of the journey that is nursing.

Lesley MacMaster
Educational credentials and qualificationsGeorgian College Chevron
  • Master of Science in Nursing (MScN), University of Toronto, Toronto ON, 2002
  • Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNSc), Queen’s University, Kingston ON, 1989
Professional affiliations and certificationsGeorgian College Chevron

Professional organizations

Committees

  • BScN Program Committee
  • Georgian College Academic Integrity Committee
  • Georgian College Clinical Praxis Committee
  • York-Georgian-Seneca Collaborative Practicum and Simulation Committee
Career highlightsGeorgian College Chevron
  • Clinical Educator and Professional Practice Leader, Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre, 1997–2003
    • Trauma Program: Trauma/Surgery; Orthopaedics, Neurosurgery, Neurosurgical Intensive Care (NICU), Reconstructive Plastic Surgery; Ross-Tilley Burn Unit
ResearchGeorgian College Chevron

Research interests

  • Nursing theory guided practice
  • Clinical judgment
  • Team-based learning
  • Interprofessional education
  • Virtual simulation strategies as complementary to traditional clinical approaches towards achieving entry-to-practice competency

Research projects

  • Globally Networked Learning
    • Faculty lead for year two BScN students in an ongoing project linking Danish and Canadian nursing students in an online platform to offer an intercultural learning experience without leaving home
    • Role: Third author
    • Year funded: 2017
PublicationsGeorgian College Chevron

Featured publications

  • *Caputi, L., & MacMaster, L. (2022). Think Like a Nurse: The Caputi method for learning clinical judgment (Canadian Version). Windy City Publishers. Learn more about this textbook.
  • Limoges, J., Nielsen, K., MacMaster, L., & Kontni, R. (2019). Globally networked learning: Deepening Canadian and Danish nursing students’ understanding of nursing, culture and health. Nurse Education Today, 76, 228-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.02.006.
  • MacMaster, L. (2023). Nursing assessment: Respiratory system. In J. Tyerman, & S. L. Cobbett (Eds.) Lewis’ medical-surgical nursing in Canada: Assessment and management of clinical problems (5th Canadian ed.). Elsevier.
  • MacMaster, L., & Puksa, M. (2019). Nursing assessment: Respiratory System. In S. L. Lewis, L. Bucher, M. M. Heitkemper, M. M. Harding, M. A. Barry, J. Lok, J. Tyerman, S., & S. Goldsworthy (Eds.), Medical-surgical nursing in Canada: Assessment and management of clinical problems (4th ed., pp. 556-578). Elsevier.
  • Puksa, M., & MacMaster, L. (2019). Nursing management: Upper Respiratory problems. In S. L. Lewis, L. Bucher, M. M. Heitkemper, M. M. Harding, M. A. Barry, J. Lok, J. Tyerman, S., & S. Goldsworthy (Eds.), Medical-surgical nursing in Canada: Assessment and management of clinical problems (4th ed., pp. 579-599). Elsevier.

*Dr. Caputi is the original author of this textbook. Lesley MacMaster is the adapting author responsible for revising Dr. Caputi’s original content for critically important Canadian content related to nursing education, licensure, regulation, workforce, nursing practice, language and attitudes common to the Canadian context.