Lessons in teamwork:

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/07/2022 (800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ryan Mabon was just one year into his role as a home-care nurse educator in Southern Health-Santé Sud when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bringing with it many new protocols and procedures that he, like all health-care workers, needed to quickly learn.

For Mabon, not only did the pandemic mean a pivot back to learning at a time when he was beginning to feel “at home” in his new position, it also required him to move quickly and efficiently to ensure that new information was shared regularly and clearly with staff supporting home care in Southern Health-Santé Sud.

As a nurse educator, Mabon oversees the educational needs of 450 home-care staff, supports transitional care needs of clients and families, and contributes to policy and procedure development for the region. COVID-19 required many changes to where and how the education needs of staff were supported but made the sharing of information even more important.

“Most of the work I do with staff is hands-on and usually happens in a room, learning together, or through a series of meetings during the course of a week,” Mabon says. “Shifting to a virtual environment felt like learning a completely new role. My work became centred around evolving COVID-19 information so that I could share it with staff — and support them through the changes.”

A nurse for the past 11 years, Mabon is very familiar with the connections that form within care teams and between health-care workers and their clients. While the experiences and challenges of working in a health-care environment during the pandemic have been different, those connections remained strong.

“It was amazing to see the support network that was immediately created. Everyone came together to ensure the highest level of safety for clients and each other, taking care with modifications that were continuously happening as we learned more about the virus,” Mabon says.

“We really became like a family as we faced every change and fear together.”

Mabon is quick to recognize the enormous efforts of the care teams he supports every day as well as the pandemic work of his wife, also a nurse. Inspired by their work to support direct patient, resident and client care, Mabon signed up to work in a COVID-19 testing site, where he administered tests for young Manitobans. That experience gave Mabon some of the moments that will stick with him long after the pandemic has ended.

“It’s an incredible feeling to see children go from absolute fear and tears to happy smiles at the test site,” he says. “Easing their fears and letting them know that they are the real heroes, keeping their friends and family safe, that was amazing.”

Working in different areas of nursing over the course of his career and throughout the pandemic has opened Mabon’s eyes to the many different opportunities that nursing in Manitoba has to offer.

“Nursing is not a narrow path. In my role, some days I could be in a client’s home or in the office supporting education virtually or making a presentation,” Mabon says.

“There are many other opportunities in other areas, working in a hospital, a personal care home or as part of a transport team travelling to all corners of our province. There are so many possibilities available to anyone who pursues a career in nursing.”

Angela Lovell is a contributing writer for Southern Health-Santé Sud.