Dr. Kelli Stajduhar: 2014 Nursing Excellence Award Recipient

Congratulations to Oak Bay-Gordon Head resident Dr. Kelli Stajduhar who was one of the recipients of the Excellence in Nursing Research Award at last week’s 2014 Nursing Excellence Awards reception in Vancouver. This prestigious award recognizes registered nurses (RNs) who demonstrate excellence in nursing research and outstanding performance in relation to CRNBC Professional Standards for RNs and Nurse Practitioners. As expert investigators these nurses conduct nursing research with a clinical focus and demonstrated practical application, and as role models they foster the development of new researchers.

Getting her start as a front lines nurse in Winnipeg, it was this experience that eventually sparked Kelli’s desire to further her nursing education. Witnessing the moral distress felt by some of her colleagues when caring for palliative patients Kelli hoped to help bring about practice change in such a way as to both improve the care of patients and reduce the moral distress of nursing staff. This desire to support patients, family caregivers, and nursing staff is what ultimately led her to pursue an academic career in applied nursing research.

Over her career Kelli has worked in the areas of oncology, palliative care, and gerontology as a nurse clinician, clinical nurse specialist, and a researcher with local health authorities. In 2004 she joined the University of Victoria School of Nursing, where she teaches in both undergraduate and graduate programs. She is also a research affiliate and faculty member at the UVic Centre on Aging and a Research Scientist with the End of Life Program in the Fraser Health Authority.

Believing that we learn and grow from each other, Kelli says that she does not see herself as a “teacher” of knowledge, but rather as a “facilitator” of learning.

“I place a high value on a collaborative approach to learning and teaching, valuing the professional and life experiences of students and believing that they have something important to contribute to the educational process. From my perspective, one of the most important aspects of teaching and learning is that we all come away from each experience with more than we bring”.

From this brief glimpse into Kelli’s extensive career it is clear to see that she is beyond deserving of this amazing award. Through her passion for nursing, commitment to patients and caregivers, and numerous contributions to the field of health services she has undoubtedly made a lasting difference to the lives of people all over BC and beyond. Congratulations on your exceptional achievement Kelli and thank you for everything that you have done and continue to do.