A handful of graduate and student nurses from the City of Thunder Bay recently took part in a seminar that taught them leadership values that undoubtedly will be valuable in the workplace.

According to representatives of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO), leadership skills are necessary in their line of work.

Around 20 individuals who graduated from nursing as well as a few students participated in a recent workshop hosted by the RNAO. The workshop, which had the theme titled From Surviving to Thriving in the Work Environment, helped Thunder Bay’s future nurses build the leadership skills needed in the hospital.

Leigh Chapman, manager of the RNAO’s Centre for Professional Nursing Excellence, comments that leadership is especially crucial when dealing with patients. She adds that oftentimes, patients look to nurses to provide them with instructions and the like. From taking medication, to being reminded when to rest, a nurse often takes the lead during a patient’s stay in the hospital.

Aside from lessons on the importance of leadership, speakers and lecturers from the RNAO also discussed what to expect when making the transition from the classroom and learning institution, to a real medical facility or healthcare setting.

With these lessons in mind, these future nurses look to be on the right track to helping the city provide healthcare to those in need.

The workshop also focused on the students’ transition from the classroom to a real health-care setting.

Nursing student Alyson Hill said it was a big change for her to go from practising on simulation dolls to helping real people. Chapman said that she hopes participants gain an understanding of the challenges graduating nursing students face.