Originally from La Ronge, Tina Shaw (she/her) has a personal connection to the College of Nursing’s “Learn Where You Live” philosophy. After completing a year of nursing in Saskatoon through the Nursing Education Program of Saskatchewan, Shaw decided to, instead, complete her diploma in Tourism and Recreation Management. This took her back to La Ronge where she worked as the Recreation Coordinator at the high school she had grown up attending.
Finding long-term, stable employment in the Tourism and Recreation sector wasn’t easy, which led Shaw to turn back to nursing. Once she was accepted to the University of Saskatchewan, she was pleased to find that she could stay in La Ronge and complete her entire degree from her hometown. She then worked as a registered nurse in long-term care in Shellbrook and at the correctional facility in Prince Albert.
Shaw found a love for learning in her nursing program and couldn’t stay away from the classroom. She chose to go back to complete a Master of Nursing while working as a teaching assistant. Her project focused on the use of artificial intelligence in nursing education, a topic which has found its way into her current role as Provincial Lab Manager.
Based at the Prince Albert campus, Shaw says her role has changed over the years as she’s taken on more responsibility. She manages all nursing skills labs operations in Prince Albert and all its distributive sites (Ile a la Crosse, La Ronge, Lloydminster, North Battleford, Muenster, and Yorkton), ensuring consistency and standardized practice. Skills labs operate differently in every community, so it’s up to Shaw to “level the playing field” and ensure that every student is getting the same standard of hands-on education, no matter where they are studying.
“At each of the sites, I have a Lab Tech who is the ‘boots on the ground’ person that’s there to set up, make sure the labs are running, and to make sure we have what we need for supplies,” explains Shaw. “I order all the supplies and work with the faculty members and Lab Coordinators to make sure we’re all talking the same language, so that we’re providing our students with the same experience regardless of where they live. At the College of Nursing, we have this ‘Learn Where You Live’ philosophy, and that’s why we have so many different sites. We want to bring our program to the rural setting, so that hopefully, our students are able to access the program, and to, hopefully, fill the nursing shortages in those smaller centers.”
One of the ways the College of Nursing is ensuring future nurses are prepared for real life situations is by exploring the use of virtual reality for training with the “Virtually There” team, which Shaw is a member of. She says, virtual reality training adds an exciting element that eases some of the safety concerns of having nursing students practicing skills.
Much of Shaw’s role involves more Human Resources work than she had imagined. Hiring and managing those who ensure the skills labs run smoothly across the distributive sites is a big part of her day to day. There is a fair amount of travel to check on the sites throughout the province, but she utilizes technology to stay connected weekly with her team as well.
To Shaw, her coworkers are one of the best parts of her role. Working with resourceful and resilient people is important on a smaller campus. She describes her team in Prince Albert as “strong and small” and notes that no matter the task, they always get the job done. Shaw also enjoys working with many regional partner colleges across the province, as well as her role’s flex time schedule has her working on evenings and weekends to ensure everything is running smoothly.
It’s not all meetings and management; Shaw loves the creative aspect of her career as well. She draws on her artistic talents in getting the mannequins prepared for simulation labs with fake wounds and makeup to make it more believable for the students. “It’s as close to real life as we can get…and a safe environment for the students to learn.”
It’s no surprise that the creative part of the labs is one of Shaw’s favourite parts of the job because in her free time, she’s engaged in crafty hobbies. Her latest passion is making wallets out of leather, while she also enjoys reading, crocheting, painting, and diamond art painting. Shaw loves spending time with her pets, including a new puppy, and is looking forward to some time on the boat in the summer, once the puppy has had a bit more training.
Tina Shaw’s experience in nursing, willingness to take on new responsibilities, and collaborative spirit are all qualities that make her a valued and celebrated ASPA member and USask staff member.
This member highlight was written by Kathryn Sawatzky, ASPA Communications & Public Relations Committee member.