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NNPBC NP Council Bio

Karen Sims

Writing this bio allowed me to reflect on my NP career of 15 1/2 years. In 2006 I registered with the college as one of the few NPs within the NP(Adult) designation. I initially worked in acute care then purposely made some changes to increase my depth of experience. While change can be daunting, I have been rewarded by working in acute care (6 years), primary care (5 years) and for the last four years in specialty care. My current role with the provincial Adult Bleeding Disorder Program at St. Paul’s Hospital challenges all my skills with dynamic hospital based care, ambulatory care, chronic disease management, health promotion, and collaboration during transition of care.

My involvement in NP Association work began with BCNPA in 2005 while still a student. I was inspired by other NPs who stepped forward to lead. Over the years I held a potpourri of positions including chair for the membership committee (2008/2009), Secretary (2009-2012), in charge of the conference budget, treasurer (2015-2017) to name a few. I have witnessed the NP profession grow and felt proud as together NPs navigated challenges and opportunities; celebrated highs and brushed off lows.

My other committee work includes the Ministry NP4BC working group (2012-2014), CRNBC Standards committee (2008-2014), CRNBC peer assessor (2015-2017), OSCE standards committee (2014- current), and chair of the NP department Quality Committee both within Fraser Health and now Providence Health Care.

There is no doubt that challenges and opportunities will be ongoing as our profession continues to grow. However, if the history of NPs in British Columbia has proven anything it is that as a united profession challenges and opportunities are manageable. I am committed to the NP profession, listening and learning from the collective wisdom of the over 700 NPs in British Columbia, and ensuring that voice is heard and represented.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Laura Vicol

Laura is an accomplished NP leader and clinical practitioner, currently holding the NP Lead position at BC Children’s & Women’s Hospital overseeing a large NP professional practice portfolio and having a primary care practice in DTES. Laura is a member or chair of multiple internal and external leadership committees collaborating directly with a diverse group of leaders and provincial partners. She holds an Adjunct Professor role with University of British Columbia, and she is the Past President of the NP Council of Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC. She currently holds the Ex-Officio seat with the NP Council.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Tarah Reece

Ama sqit (Good day)! My name is Tarah Reece and I am an Indigenous Nurse Practitioner. I was born and raised in Victoria and my family is from Mount Currie, BC. I have been a Registered Nurse since 2007 and graduated from the University of Victoria in 2020 as a Family Nurse Practitioner. My position within Island Health provides primary health care to both urban and rural Indigenous peoples. I am extremely passionate about providing culturally safe, trauma informed, and inclusive care.

As an experienced RN and a recent NP graduate I continue to see patient, provider and allied health knowledge gaps and underutilization of the resources and health benefits that are available for the Indigenous population that we serve.

I believe the NP Indigenous Councillor position, provides the opportunity for greater provincial collaboration and advocacy to help improve some of the health disparities that many of our Indigenous patient’s experience. Additionally, this position delivers leadership with the goal of a united voice for Indigenous NP's in BC.

I would like to extend a sincere Kukwstumckalap (Thank you) for your consideration of me for the NP Indigenous Councillor position.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Sarah Adair

I am a passionate clinician interested in NP advocacy. As one of the first NPs to sign with an independent contract on Vancouver Island my focus quickly turned to understanding the contracts and advocating for NPs by first assisting NNPBC to create info sheets to better guide NPs engaging with the new independent contracts. My position secured with the Westshore Urgent Primary Care Centre afforded me the opportunity to take on a leadership position, as my colleagues and director noted my enthusiasm for NP advocacy. I currently sit on the Western Communities PCN Leadership Committee as the only NP assisting the community to delivery resources related to primary care. My intention is to ignite the fire in all other NPs on the island, and promote the development of NP roles while bringing a patient-focused lens to primary care in hopes to better the health of our growing communities.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Jane Bazan

I feel very privileged to have been successful for the position of NNPBC NP Councillor for the Fraser region. Throughout my career as a Registered Nurse, and in my decision to pursue a career as an NP, I have always been passionate about the profession of nursing and how we can collaboratively work towards excellence in Nursing.

I have a strong desire to promote the profession of Nurse Practitioners in British Columbia and feel that being an advocate and voice for the NPs of Fraser Health, through my work on the council of the NNPBC, I will be able to achieve that. I am fair, open-minded, professional and an ally in the advancement of the role of NPs in British Columbia. I will work tirelessly to ensure that the concerns of the Fraser NPs are carried forward to NNPBC and that their voices are heard.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Jaime Fortier

I am a Family Nurse Practitioner living and working on Vancouver Island, in the beautiful Comox Valley. I graduated from the University of Victoria in 2013 and began practicing as an NP in 2014. Starting off working primarily with frail, marginalized home-bound individuals and families, I recently transitioned to a primary care clinic where I sees a wide range of people of all ages and backgrounds. I am committed to and passionate about team-based care and work towards this goal, both with the local Division of Family Practice as well as through my seat on the NNPBC council. I am a strong believer in patient empowerment and self-management and works collaboratively with community supports to achieve this. When not at work, you can find me on the trails with family, either on bikes or skis. This will be my second year on council as your Vancouver Island representative and I am excited to be sharing this role with Sarah Adair over the next year.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Rebecca Irving

Hello, my name is Rebecca Irving (she/her/hers). I graduated from UNBC in 2018 as a Family Nurse Practitioner. For the last three years, I have worked in Prince George as an FNP with primarily Indigenous and underserved populations. I am passionate about providing quality primary health care to all levels of socioeconomic status and working to break down social barriers to health care services. I hope to bring a Northern perspective to NNPBC and provide insight into some of the physical, social, and political barriers experienced in the North. I look forward to learning some of the behind-the-scenes of NNPBC as I have admired the council's work thus far in promoting independent work opportunities for nurse practitioners. I grew up in Prince George and have found no reason to leave! I love the community and the easy access to the outdoors. In my free time, I like to bike, hike, run and ski. I recently did a therapy-dog-training course with my two-year-old lab, in hopes of one day bringing her to work with me, though her current energy levels have me thinking we are a few years away from that!

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Caroline Murphy

Hello, my name is Carrie Murphy. I live in Pitt Meadows which is located on the unceded territory of the Katzie First Nation.

I have been a NP since 2007 and love the autonomy that comes with being a NP. I worked for the Fraser Health Authority for the first 11 years and am now an independent contractor with a primary care practice in Langley.

I've held a number of leadership roles as a NP including chair of the BCNPA Communications committee, chair of the Fraser Health NP COP, Langley Local Department Head for the Fraser Health Department of Nurse Practitioners. As well, I sat on the Langley Division of Family Practice as a board member and as Secretary/Treasurer.

I joined the NNPBC NP Council in 2020 as councillor at large.

My passion is for the fullest integration of NPs in the BC health care system, and for compensation models that allow NPs to "hang up their shingle" and develop their practice where and how they choose.

My role is to represent all NPs in the province, which requires member engagement and communication. I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas about what could be done to improve these areas and anything else on your mind. Since I don’t have a geographic region to represent, I encourage any NP in BC to contact me at cmurphy@nnpbc.com.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Tracey Payne

My name is Tracey Payne. I have been a Nurse Practitioner for 5 years, and practicing in the rural community of Sayward for the last 4 years. I have been nursing for over 23 years, working in a variety of areas over the years from Pediatrics and Maternity to Emergency and Surgery. I love working in a small community and have been very active in promoting health and prevention strategies by starting up community programs including a Seniors Community lunch program, a community walking program and facilitating health promotion classes. I have become a provider of Myoactivation to help those suffering from chronic pain. I have also been facilitating online peer group sessions and McMaster Small Group Based Learning to accommodate those who would not normally have access to in person training. In my practice, I also am actively involved in mentoring nurse practitioner students throughout the year. In my personal life, I have a husband who is retired from the military and two beautiful daughters. We are a family who love to travel and spend time outdoors. Over the years, we have visited most areas of British Columbia as well as much of Canada and International destinations.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Kate Proznick

I am a Nurse Practitioner student at UBC. Health care in British Columbia is facing a multitude of challenges requiring transformational changes in order to have a sustainable health care system for all British Columbians. As a registered nurse and NP student I want to be part of these changes and engaging more fully with the NNPBC will assist me in expanding my understanding of the advocacy and policy work that contributes to the NP role from government to local health authority levels. I am committed to being an engaged council member, and will do my utmost to support the goals and deliverables laid out in the terms of reference.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Sydney Richardson-Carr

I am a Family Nurse Practitioner (NP) currently employed at the Kelowna and Vernon Urgent and Primary Care Centres (UPCCs) as a contracted NP. I was born and raised in beautiful Prince Edward Island but made my way west, completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree with Distinction at the University of Alberta in 2012. After working as a nurse in cardiovascular intensive care, I wanted to shift into primary care, in order to focus on the other end of the health spectrum - health promotion and disease prevention. I moved to Kelowna in 2016 and went on to complete the Masters of Nursing, NP Program at the University of Victoria, graduating in 2018. I am currently returning from my first maternity leave and reprising my role as the NP-lead at the Vernon UPCC. I am excited to continue furthering the role of NPs in BC and supporting colleagues in practice. In my spare time, I enjoys hiking with my family, skiing, playing music, reading and generally enjoying the beautiful Okanagan.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Parveen Sangha

I completed a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing (BScN) from the University of Fraser Valley in 2008. Subsequently I worked as a Critical Care Registered Nurse in the Vancouver General Hospital Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) and Cardiac Investigation Unit. In 2017, I obtained a Master’s of Science in Nursing (MScN) and completed the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program at the University of Northern British Columbia.

From July 2017 until Dec 2019, I worked as a Family Nurse Practitioner in the Survivorship and Primary Care Program at the BC Cancer Agency. I completed the Introductory General Practitioner Oncology Course and provided survivorship and primary care to a population of patients with a wide range of cancer diagnoses including breast and lymphoma. Within this role, I gained exposure to all aspects of cancer care including palliative care, pain and symptom management, and monitoring for recurrences. In January 2020 I started a new role with the Primary Care Practice at Seymour Health Centre. I enjoy being a preceptor for UBC NP students and mentoring new primary care NPs.

In addition to the roles in Primary Care and Cancer Survivorship, I have also worked with the Vancouver Costal Health Medical Assistance in Death (MAiD) team over the last 3 years to assess and provide medically assisted death.

NNPBC NP Council Bio

Harvinder Sihota

I joined the NNPBC NP Council in 2020 as the Fraser region councillor. Since the outset of my NP career, I have committed to supporting nursing excellence in the areas of policy, education and leadership. While completing my NP education at UBC, I was the student representative for the Nurse Practitioner Advisory Group (NPA), operating under the governance of the Ministry's Nursing Policy Secretariat. During this time I offered a student and new grad perspective on matters pertaining to NP integration in BC. As a new NP, I was the initial Clinical Director of one of BC’s first Nurse Practitioner Primary Care Clinics (NP-PCC) in Surrey. In this role, I provided oversight for the implementation of the NP-PCC. Now I work as an NP at the NP-PCC, offering full scope primary care services to patients across the lifespan. I am passionate about enhancing patient care through a collaborative team-based approach and work with an incredible team of NPs and allied health professionals. I enjoy supporting NP and am an adjunct professor at UBC School of Nursing NP program. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my family while exploring our beautiful province!