“I feel blessed to have received my education at a school where I am challenged to reflect God’s faithful love in my nursing care. I have been inspired by nurses and professors who demonstrate to patients that they are seen and loved, and so have a deeper purpose behind their work which sustains them through difficult days.”
— Grace Konrad, BSc Nursing ('22), Undergraduate Valedictorian
Honouring nurses and their significant contribution to Canadian society
This week Canada celebrates National Nursing Week (May 9 to 15).
We are grateful for the nurses who serve our country and communities. Nurses are present in many of life’s most critical moments. Their skills, expertise, judgement, care and compassion help us navigate illness and health, death and life.
Nurses at TWU
Here at Trinity Western, we are incredibly thankful for our campus Wellness Centre nurses, as well as our School of Nursing faculty, staff and students. They exemplify both nursing professionalism and Christ-like character as they seek to teach, learn, practice and apply their skills and knowledge in the nursing field.
Grace Konrad, this year’s undergraduate valedictorian, is a School of Nursing graduate. In reflecting on her Nursing education at TWU, she said, “I feel blessed to have received my education at a school where I am challenged to reflect God’s faithful love in my nursing care. I have been inspired by nurses and professors who demonstrate to patients that they are seen and loved, and so have a deeper purpose behind their work which sustains them through difficult days.”
“I am often humbled by the privilege of being invited into the challenging and vulnerable times of peoples’ lives through nursing,” she adds.
“Through my experience in the hospital so far, I have begun to learn that these are times in which I need to rely on God. Although I may not feel adequate, I am grateful for how God still chooses to involve me in His restorative kingdom work through nursing."
“I am often humbled by the privilege of being invited into the challenging and vulnerable times of peoples’ lives through nursing.”
TWU's new PhD in Nursing answers the deepening shortage of doctorally-prepared nursing faculty
TWU has launched a new Doctorate in Philosophy of Nursing (PhD) program, with a distinctly values-based approach to higher education, leadership, and research. The first cohort begins in September 2022.
As the first faith-based doctoral program in nursing in Canada, Trinity Western’s PhD in Nursing prepares nurses to be educators and leaders within academic, healthcare, and government settings.
Rooted in the Christian ethos of TWU, students will have opportunity to develop a values-based approach to higher education, leadership, and research. “No other faith-based doctoral program in nursing exists in Canada (and few internationally), despite a growing cadre of nurses who desire to engage in the deep theological and philosophic traditions that underpin health, compassion, and healing,” said Dr. Sheryl Reimer-Kirkham, Dean of Nursing.
Dr. Barbara Astle, Director of the Master of Science in Nursing, highlights the demand for the PhD program, noting that there is a deepening shortage of doctorally-prepared nursing faculty provincially, nationally, and globally. There are also insufficient numbers of nurse scholars prepared to generate disciplinary knowledge.
“We need PhD-prepared nurse educators in order to fill the critical global nursing shortage, which has been accelerated by the pandemic,” said Dr. Astle. “In addition to opportunities in higher education, our graduates will be well-positioned to pursue or to advance in leadership and research roles.”
For more information, please visit TWU Doctorate in Philosophy of Nursing (PhD).
