Hannah Dykstra is used to chaos.

As a Registered Nurse at both the Grove Home and the Emergency Department of Arnprior & District Memorial Hospital, Hannah thrives when she can take charge of an emerging situation.

“At the Grove, I am a charge nurse,” says Hannah. “So I am carrying around the phone all day and overseeing all three floors: making sure the staff and residents are all doing well. I am also doing direct patient care, too: pills, wound management, catheter changes, that sort of thing. It is a lot to juggle!”

As part of the Emerging Leaders program, Hannah is building on her existing skills and learning new techniques to help her as a nurse and a leader.

“The stuff we are learning is stuff that reinforces my day-to-day practices. For example, we recently finished a module on managing conflict. And this is definitely something I do every day: between staff, between residents, that sort of thing. And I was able to learn different ways to deal with it, or ways to tweak what I already do to work even better.”

 A broad effect

And what she is learning is helping her in some unexpected ways, as well.

“It isn’t just helping me in my role as a leader, in terms of staff. It is helping me to be a better advocate for the residents, too. Learning how to communicate better with management, how to make suggestions, that kind of thing. To speak up and say, hey I think this is something that could benefit the residents.”

After a year in her current role, Hannah is excited for her future at ARH. The skills she is learning through the Emerging Leaders program will only help her continue to grow, she says.

“This program is empowering me to feel like I want to make changes. There are so many ways to build on the skills I have now. It’s exciting!”

When she’s not at work

Originally from new Zealand, Hannah loves swimming and biking with her two kids. She loves to grab a “funfetti” cookie and a cup of good coffee from Ottawa Valley Coffee.