Celebrating Our Nurses
Published Monday, June 12, 2023
For National Nursing Week (May 8–14) Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) is taking the opportunity to celebrate and recognize the vital role nurses play in delivering quality care in Thunder Bay and across Northwestern Ontario. We are highlighting a few of our nurses and their achievements. To these and all the nurses at TBRHSC, thank you for your unwavering care and dedication to the health of the community.
Erika Bishop
After graduating in 2014 from Lakehead University, Erika Bishop, Nurse Practitioner – Primary Health Care (NP-PHC), started her career at TBRHSC working as a cardiac nurse. In 2017, she moved over to the hemodialysis unit and continues working there in a casual position.
Before March 2020, she had applied for graduate studies and ended up spending the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic working on her Master of Nursing – Primary Care Nurse Practitioner degree from Queen’s University, which she obtained in July 2022. She has since joined TBRHSC’s Nurse Led Outreach team as a Nurse Practitioner working in long-term care, assisted living and retirement homes across Thunder Bay with the goal of reducing emergency room visits.
Megan Kelly
Meet Megan Kelly, an energetic and compassionate Emergency Department Registered Nurse who recently graduated from Lakehead University with a Bachelor of Science and Nursing in June of 2022. After completing her degree, Megan relocated to Thunder Bay from southern Ontario. She was drawn to the area by its natural beauty and the unique challenges presented by providing health care in a more remote region.
After finishing her second year of the collaborative nursing program, she applied to be a Unit Care Aide at TBRHSC, where she was responsible for supporting staff in providing care to patients. This experience was a pivotal moment in Megan’s nursing career, as it opened doors that clinical placements could not. This is where she found her passion for emergency nursing, being drawn to the fast-paced environment and having the ability to make a difference in people's lives in their most vulnerable moments.
As Megan transitioned from her role as a Unit Care Aide and nursing student to a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department (ED), she was better-equipped to handle the high demands of the job due to the amazing teamwork and welcoming staff within the department. The ED at the TBRHSC is one of the busiest in the province, serving not only the city but also regional communities.
Thanks to her previous experience working in the hospital and her education, Megan was able to hit the ground running, quickly adapting to the fast-paced and often unpredictable environment of the ED. She demonstrates a strong ability to assess patient needs, provide timely and appropriate care all while maintaining a calm and reassuring demeanor for her patients and their families.
When she is not working on the frontlines she enjoys being a proud member of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) sitting on our local chapters executive board helping to boost their social media presence. She also holds a seat on the TBRHSC Nursing Practice Council to give the voice of a novice frontline nurse, collaborating with her colleagues to identify opportunities for quality improvement and implement evidence-based practices.
Jacob Kubinec
Jacob (Jake) Kubinec has been a Registered Nurse (RN) since 2016 and has worked on mental health-based units most of his career. He started on the Nursing Resource Team, working on many different units, where he gained interest in mental health. Jake then worked in Forensics until he accepted a permanent full time position in Adult Mental Health.
Jake enjoys working in Adult Mental Health as he has a deep passion for working with patients who have mental illnesses. Jake says, “I have a very supportive team that I respect and care about greatly. I really hope to continue to learn and improve my skills as a Mental Health Nurse.”