Meet Alexandria. One of our highly skilled RPNs.

Alexandria, tell us about your work at Winterberry — what’s your role?
I am one of the members of the nursing team at Winterberry. My responsibilities include supporting the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension through monitoring, education, and care coordination. As a nurse, my role also emphasizes preventative health by administering immunizations, arranging and discussing cancer screenings, and promoting early detection and wellness. In addition, I work with parents and families to assess infants’ and children’s growth and development, ensuring age-appropriate milestones are met and addressing concerns early.

What made you want to become an RPN?
In high school, I excelled in math and sciences but was unsure which path I wanted to take. In my senior year, I had an amazing teacher who worked as an operating room nurse for most of her nursing career. Her experiences and stories inspired me to begin a nursing career of my own.

What is the educational background for an RPN? Where did you go to school?
To become an RPN in Ontario, you must complete a two-year college program and then pass a board exam to become registered. I attended Mohawk College for my nursing education, which offered an accelerated 16-month nursing program. I passed my CNO exam in February 2020 and started my nursing career shortly after.

What made you want to be part of the Winterberry team?
All of my previous clinical experience was in hospital-based settings. In hospital care, nursing assessments are often focused on treating acute exacerbations of chronic health conditions. Patients would arrive in crisis, be stabilized, and then discharged home. I was very interested in working in primary care, where I could be part of a team that helps prevent hospital admissions by managing chronic conditions and providing comprehensive, patient-centred, evidence-based care.

Is there an average day in the clinic for you?
An average day in the clinic involves caring for patients of all ages and providing a wide range of clinical interventions. This includes welcoming patients, obtaining and assessing vital signs such as blood pressure, administering injections and immunizations, providing education on cancer screening and health prevention, and answering patient questions to support informed decision-making. Throughout the day, I also assess the growth and development of infants and children, ensure milestones are met, and administer age-appropriate vaccinations.

What is your favourite part of your job?
My favourite part of my job is that I am constantly learning. Each patient and their history is unique and offers an opportunity to learn something new. Guidelines and recommendations are always evolving, which challenges me to stay flexible and continue growing in my practice.

When you’re not at Winterberry helping patients, what will we find you doing?
When I’m not at Winterberry, you can find me with my son, my partner, and our dog, Millie. We love the outdoors and enjoy exploring in all seasons, rain or shine. We especially love camping and going to the beach in the warmer months, and playing in the snow all winter long.