MARGARET AVERY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP ($2000.00)

SHEILA O’KEEFE-MCCARTHY - Sheila is completing her Master of Nursing (Critical or Persistent Illness - Adults) at the University of Toronto. Her career goals are twofold and include conducting research on the professional journey of the nurses’ practice and advancing her nursing education scholarship to increase the breadth and depth of collaborative emancipatory-partnered learning. Sheila’s long-term career goal is to foster excellence and visionary leadership in nursing education.

ISABEL BLACK SCHOLARSHIP ($2000.00)

LEE MANTINI - Lee is completing her Master of Health Science Nursing at Charles Sturt University. Lee has been an active member in a broad range of professional organizations with particular foci on international and community health. Lee’s long term career goal is to, “use my clinical, managerial and academic expertise to empower nurses and develop partnerships at the local, national, and international levels in the pursuit of improved health and positive health system change.”

KATHLEEN HOWE MITCHELL SCHOLARSHIP ($4000.00)

CLAIRE NGUYEN - Claire is completing her Master of Public Health at John Hopkins University. Claire completed both her Master of Science (Nursing) and Bachelor of Law degrees in 2004 and for the past six years, she has provided psychiatric nursing care on the Psychiatry Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her long-term career goal “is to assist in the development of a public health infrastructure in Canada that can address the needs of all persons, especially susceptible persons such as those with mental health illnesses.”

JAN METCALFE AWARD (2 RECIPIENTS - $1000.00)

JOANNE ANDREWS - Joanne is pursuing her Master of Nursing at the University of Toronto in the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner field of study. Joanne’s primary professional goal is to broaden her scope of practice to include advanced clinical decision making skills related to advanced assessment and her secondary goal is to strengthen her leadership as a change agent within the profession.Joanne was described by a faculty member as a, “highly knowledgeable clinician who is committed to the highest standards of evidence-based practice.”

JAN METCALFE AWARD (2 RECIPIENTS - $1000.00)

LINDA KELLOWAY - Linda is completing her Master of Nursing at the University of Toronto. She is the Regional Stroke Education Consultant for the West GTA Stroke Ne twork and she has demonstrated leadership in the RNAO Nursing Best Practice Guidelines projects, including the development of a Stroke Best Practices Workshop. “Linda is seen across Ontario as a key resource person because of her extensive experience in stroke care, her in-depth knowledge of the literature and her approachable, confident style.”

PRENATAL & PARENTHOOD EDUCATION SERVICES AWARD (2 RECIPIENTS - $2000.00)

LISA CHADWICK - Lisa continues to demonstrate academic excellence as last year, she was awarded the Childbirth Nurses Interest Group Scholarship. Lisa is currently enrolled in the Masters of Science in Nursing at McMaster University. Lisa is involved in a number of professional activities, including membership in several RNAO Interest Groups and she is an executive member of the RNAO Hamilton Chapter. Her career goal is to engage in research and teaching at an academic setting and to promote the healthy development of maternal-child nursing as a profession.

PRENATAL & PARENTHOOD EDUCATION SERVICES AWARD (2 RECIPIENTS - $2000.00)

SHERI DOUGLAS - Sheri is completing her Master of Nursing (Women’s Health) at the University of Toronto. Sheri has practiced for six years at Grand River Hospital, Waterloo Health Centre Childbirth Program and her career goal involves becoming a Clinical Nurse Specialist within the perinatal program. She is described as “an excellent nurse with the capacity to be a strong leader in the field of perinatal nursing.”

RNFOO GALA SCHOLARSHIP (2 RECIPIENTS - $2500.00)

MELISSA FURFARO - Melissa has been accepted into the Master of Science program at McMaster University for September 2005. She provides nursing care to mothers and babies with compromised maternal or fetal health on the High Risk Ante/ Postpartum Unit at Mount Sinai Hospital. “Melissa wishes to continue with research and development around perinatal/postpartum mental health and hopes to educate communities, students and caregivers about such topics, thus reducing the stigma attached to postpartum depression.”

RNFOO GALA SCHOLARSHIP (2 RECIPIENTS - $2500.00)

SAMANTHA MAYO - Samantha is pursuing a Master of Nursing (Critical or Persistent Illness - Adults) at the University of Toronto. Her long-term career goal is “to engage in research that will improve the supportive care provided to hematology oncology patients, with a particular focus on bone marrow transplantation.” Samantha is described as “the next generation of nurse leaders in Ontario who will shape health care in the province.”