Registered Nurse, Mission Bay Adult Acute Care

April's Bio:

I grew up in a tiny town in Ontario, Canada where despite its small population there was a culture of acceptance and inclusion. Moving to a bigger city center for nursing school was a delight for the senses; there was so much to learn about everyone and curiosity gave me my best education. Throughout school I worked as a Patient Care Aide with the oncology population. Cancer treatments, especially in the early 2000's, could drastically change how someone looked and I learned that more than anything what most people wanted was to be seen, as themselves, their whole selves. It's something I have carried with me through nursing at 12 different hospitals over the course of my career;  night shift, day shift, my Charge Nurse roll or when I precept new staff. I believe that is part of why I was awarded the Vera Brau award for Clinical Excellence and Patient Advocacy in 2004 and the Daisy Award here at Mission Bay in 2023.

What advice would you give yourself early on in your career?

Take every opportunity to listen and learn. Keep a toe in the education system even if it's not towards a formal degree. New ideas feed into curiosity and fuel enthusiasm in a profession that has a very real risk of burn out.

Can you tell us about a significant role model or mentor in your life? 

My first few preceptors were critical to the bedrock of my nursing practice. Both were immigrant women who had chosen to leave their home in search of opportunity and growth, breaking though language barriers and many other hurdles. They believed that a Nurse is above all an advocate and that in order to do that well one needs to know the whole person, have excellent clinical knowledge as well as the skill and confidence to communicate within a team to achieve the patient's goals.

What has been an important success in your career?

My greatest successes over two decades of nursing is to simply be remembered, either by a patient or family member for having made their day better in some way or by a new Nurse just starting their career who has told me they feel supported or inspired by something they have seen in me and my guidance.

What do you like to do outside of work? 

I am an outdoors person! I love escaping into the backcountry for thru-hikes,  I can spend an entire day at any shoreline being mesmerized by the water and I will happily watch any wild critter play in its environment. The Bay Area shares so many gifts with us.

Meet other outstanding women of UCSF through Our Spotlight.