A Nursing First for Kingston
Kingston, Ontario – Kingston General Hospital Nurse Practitioner Janet Giroux is the first nurse in Kingston and the South East Local Health Integration Network (South East LHIN) to receive the prestigious de Souza Advance Practice Nurse (APN) Designation. She becomes only the fourth nurse in all of Ontario to bestowed this honour.
The de Souza Institute is an innovative learning centre dedicated to cancer care excellence and since 2008 has provided ongoing educational support and professional development to approximately 9,000 clinicians. In order to obtain the de Souza APN Designation Janet completed extensive course work totaling 285 learning hours as well as a 150 hour clinical fellowship.
“Being the first de Souza APN in Kingston and the South East LHIN is a remarkable accomplishment that confirms a passion and drive to achieve the highest level of expertise possible,” said Dr. Mary Jane Esplen, Executive Director of de Souza Institute. “Janet’s fellowship focused on oncology sexual health; an important quality of life issue faced by many cancer patients which has not been well addressed by the health care system. Janet is leading the way bringing knowledge and expertise to sensitive survivorship issues, to help integrate sexual health care into medical education as well as into routine care.”
“By supporting our staff in their efforts to continually improve their education, we are able to ensure we are always striving to provide the highest quality care to our patients and families,” says Silvie Crawford, Executive Vice President and Chief Nursing Executive, Kingston Health Sciences Centre. “We’re so pleased to have such dedicated and talented staff at KHSC and to celebrate Janet’s significant accomplishment, as well as the accomplishments of all of our nurses during National Nursing Week.”
The demand for nurses with specialized skills in cancer care is continuing to grow. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, 2 in 5 Canadians will develop cancer within their lifetime and 1 in 4 Canadians will die of cancer. The de Souza Institute and Kingston Health Sciences Centre are two outstanding organizations focused on improving the cancer care experience for patients and families by ensuring they have access to quality information and the best cancer care nurses.
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About de Souza Institute
Established in 2008, de Souza Institute, in partnership with University Health Network, Cancer Care Ontario and funded by Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, provides ongoing educational support, professional development and career counseling to nurses caring for cancer patients and families. To learn more about de Souza Institute visit www.desouzainstitute.com
Contact Information:
de Souza Institute
Deyan Kostovski
416-417-8566
deyan.kostovski@desouzainstitute.com