Professional Practice Conference
BCNU is committed to the growth and development of all our members. Every two years, the union hosts a nursing practice conference to support members’ professional development. The events feature guest speakers and interactive sessions designed to enrich members’ professional experiences.
More than 150 BCNU members from around the province gathered in Vancouver on Nov.1 on the traditional, ancestral and unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples for the union’s professional practice conference. Enhancing Nursing Practice: Building a Strong Foundation explored a wide range of issues relevant to the nursing profession today, including minimum nurse-patient ratios, self-care and Indigenous-specific cultural safety in the workplace.
Learn more about the speakers and their presentations.
Cultural Safety and Humility
A reflection of Indigenous nursing practice and defining our responsibility and foundation in cultural safety and humility.
Nurses can play a critical role in upholding Indigenous human rights and cultural safety in health care. Learn what each of us can do to support Indigenous cultural safety in all areas of nursing.
Guest speaker
Tania Dick hails from the Dzawada’enuxw First Nation of Kingcome Inlet and has been a registered nurse in BC for 20 years, mostly in rural and remote settings. She works as a director – cultural safety and humility and clinical practice with the BC Ministry of Health’s Indigenous Health and Reconciliation division.
The Cultural Safety, Cultural Humility and Anti-racism Practice Standard
Learn to identify and describe the six core concepts and principles of this standard.
Guest speaker
Paula Foster is a regulatory practice consultant with the BCCNM who works to promote understanding and application of nursing practice standards. She holds a master of science in nursing and has also nursed in New Zealand with the Maori people.
Guest speaker
hanif karim is a nurse and BCNU's Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Legal implications and Considerations when Nursing with Limited Resources
Health-care systems are more challenged than ever and are stressing nurses who strive to provide safe care while upholding professional standards with limited resources. What are the legal implications for nurses? How can nurses protect themselves? Learn about risk-management strategies.
Guest speaker
Tim Langlois, CD, JD is a legal advisor with the Canadian Nurses Protective Society. He served 35 years in the Canadian Armed Forces where he practiced nursing. He graduated from Queen’s University Law School and is a member of the Law Society of Ontario who has practiced administrative law, health law and law enforcement.
Support for LPNs Working with Limited Resources
Guest speaker
Hailey Taskey is an Accredited Insurance Broker and a Chartered Insurance Professional. She has 17 years’ experience in the insurance industry and leads Lloyd Sadd’s health-care and nonprofit sectors. Insurance Business Magazine named her one of the Top 50 Insurance Professionals in Canada Under 35.
Exploring Moral Distress
The impact of nurses’ moral distress is growing exponentially. Nurses are forced into challenging decisions when delivering care. Explore trauma-informed tools to work with moral distress that originates in past or current experiences in and out of the workplace.
Guest speakers
Anita Chari and Angelica Singh are co-founders of Embodying Your Practice, which teaches embodied and trauma-informed practices to health-care workers. Singh is a somatic educator and trauma therapist whose work has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine and offered at UCLA Medical Center. Chari is associate professor of political science at the University of Oregon and has won multiple teaching awards for her innovative work to bring embodied, trauma-informed social justice paradigms into higher education.
Walking Together: Indigenous Allyship in Action
Being an ally is not a static identity, nor a badge of honour – it is a sign of privilege. Unpack the similarities and differences in being an ally to Indigenous peoples in relationship to other ally contexts.
Guest speaker
Len Pierre is a professor of Indigenous Studies at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, a TEDx speaker, and a traditional knowledge keeper. He has a master of education from SFU focusing on Indigenous curriculum and instructional design.
Addressing the Shortage: Nurse-Patient Ratios
BC will become the first province in Canada to implement minimum nurse-patient ratios for its critically understaffed nursing workforce. Learn how this vital work is progressing in a presentation from BCNU’s leadership team.
Adriane Gear - President
Adriane Gear was elected president in 2023 and began her three-year term on September 1. Adriane first became active with BCNU in 2004. A registered nurse from Victoria, she has experience as a steward, regional occupational health and safety representative, regional executive member, and held Provincial Executive Committee roles including executive councillor for OHS and mental health, and vice president.
As union president, Adriane brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role and is committed to ensuring that health employers treat BC’s nurses with respect. She is committed to championing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, and advancing diversity, equity and inclusion within the union and the health-care system. Adriane is dedicated to upholding the Nurses’ Bargaining Association collective agreement and ensuring that the province implements nurse-patient ratios, which will improve the staffing and practice conditions needed to keep nurses in the profession and improve patient care.
Tristan Newby – Vice President
Tristan Newby is an RN of 13 years and has had the opportunity to work in the areas of mental health, public health, emergency, and site leadership. He is a fierce advocate for improving the lives of his patients and peers. Tristan currently serves as the BCNU’s vice president, and advocates for nurse-patient ratios on the union’s planning and executive steering committees.
Jim Gould – Interim CEO
Jim Gould has been proudly serving as BCNU’s interim chief executive officer and chief negotiator for the Nurses’ Bargaining Association since January 2022. As an experienced arbitrator and mediator, Jim has championed nurses’ rights through his past work as senior external legal counsel to BCNU for 17 years. He is committed to strengthening BCNU members’ voices with government through collective bargaining and by uniting with other nursing unions through the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions.
Deborah Charrois – Director, Legal and Labour Relations
Deborah Charrois holds a master of laws from York University and a bachelor of laws from the University of Alberta. She has held several positions at BCNU over the past 18 years, from labour relations officer to LEAP Program coordinator. Deborah has been a lawyer for over 22 years and currently serves as the union’s director of legal and labour relations.
Mycal Barrowclough – Director, Professional Practice and Advocacy
Mycal Barrowclough is committed to advancing the nursing profession and advocating for improved practice conditions. A registered nurse for 22 years, he has dedicated his career to elevating the role of nurses to ensure they can deliver compassionate care. Mycal currently serves as the union’s director of professional practice and advocacy.