Student Excellence Award-winner lands dream job as forensic nurse
Student Excellence Award-winner lands dream job as forensic nurse
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| David Denofreo photo |
By Tamara Letkeman, doug Editor
If you think your dream job is just a faint light at the end of a long tunnel, Mackenzie Lister - the latest recipient of the Douglas College Student Excellence Award - has news for you.
Though she graduated from Douglas just last year with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Mackenzie – who is also completing an Emergency Certificate at BCIT and taking courses for her Forensic Certificate – says she already has the “best nursing job anybody could ever have.”
Mackenzie is an emergency nurse at Royal Columbian Hospital. She’s also a forensic nurse examiner at Surrey Memorial Emergency, which means she cares for victims of trauma from sexual assault, child abuse, human trafficking, elder abuse and more. She also collects forensic evidence, consults with legal authorities and presents her findings in court.
“Forensic nursing is my calling,” she says. “It allows me to mesh my love of science and my passion to help victims of trauma. It ties in completely with my nursing philosophy with regards to health promotion, justice, advocacy and basic rights for all. I love this job because it allows me to help people gain control over their lives, help them heal and move forward on their road of recovery. Nothing could be better than that.”
While a student at Douglas, Mackenzie collaborated with one of her instructors to write the new curriculum for Douglas College's revised Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. She says the program prepared her well for what she's doing now.
"The educators in the BSN program are tremendously talented in their own right," she says. "To have been mentored by some of them was a privilege."
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