Nurse Practitioner Week Spotlight: Christina Johnson

During Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week, we will be spotlighting NPs to highlight the important roles they play at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Meet Christina Johnson who works with the Nurse Led Outreach Team.

Education/training

Before completing my education as a Nurse Practitioner (NP), I worked as a Registered Nurse in the Neurosurgical unit from 2004-2016 and then as a Clinical Stroke Nurse from 2016-2018. I graduated from Lakehead University in 2018 with my Master’s in Public Health and Nurse Practitioner certificate. I have had the opportunity to work in primary care and am now working at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre with the Nurse-Led Outreach Team.

Why did you decided to become a Nurse Practitioner?

I have always loved learning and really enjoyed being a student. Once I obtained my degree in Nursing, I decided to keep going. I enjoy being able to review client histories, do full assessments and come up with differential diagnoses and treatment plans for clients.

Tell us about your role in your program.

The Nurse-Led Outreach Team has five NPs and one RN. As one of these NPs, I assess clients in Long Term Care Homes, Assisted Living Homes and Retirement Homes to help prevent avoidable Emergency room visits. We also help clients who do not have a primary provider with their medication refills and chronic issues. Emergency follow-ups with clients who have visited the ED are also completed to review our role and remind them to contact our team before accessing the ED for non-acute issues.

What is the most challenging part of your profession?

As a mobile-type clinic, it is sometimes difficult to see clients in their homes as it is not a scheduled appointment. A lot of times, we may be working with little to no information, especially if there is no family involved with the client. The multidisciplinary teams at these facilities are a lifeline for us, and we would not be able to work efficiently without their help.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your profession?

Being able to assess a client from start to finish and follow up to assess improvements is very rewarding. Most clients in the geriatric population are not keen to leave their apartments so having the ability to try to treat them at home is very appreciative to both the client and their families.

Do you have any advice for those considering a career as a Nurse Practitioner?

If you are passionate about the medical field and love learning, I say why not? Nurse Practitioners are very autonomous and it can be very rewarding career. It really opens a lot of doors as there are so many different areas a NP can have a career in.