Nurse Practitioner Week Spotlight: Taylor Thiessen

During Nurse Practitioner (NP) Week, we will be spotlighting NPs to highlight the important roles they play at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Today’s spotlight feature is Taylor Thiessen, a Cardiothoracic Nurse Practitioner who works in the Cardiovascular Sciences Program at our Hospital.

Education and Training

After finishing the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, I completed specialty certification in critical care nursing while working on the Cardiovascular and Regional Stroke Unit. Following this, I worked in the Intensive Care Unit for several years before completing my Master of Nursing degree and the Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner program. I’ve also completed additional relevant courses such as Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support and the Trauma Nursing Core Course. I would say that my experience in critical care nursing has been instrumental in my current role, both in terms of knowledge while managing acute inpatients, as well as with hands-on skills and troubleshooting.

Tell us about your role in your program.

My role currently involves both supporting the thoracic surgery program and assisting with the cardiovascular surgery program implementation. I work collaboratively with the surgeons and other interdisciplinary team members to assess, diagnose, and manage patient care throughout the perioperative period. I frequently see consultations for surgical consideration or related concerns, insert and manage drains within the pleural space, educate patients and families regarding their diagnoses and plans of care, and participate in clinical research and quality improvement initiatives. I’m also involved in the development of the cardiovascular surgery program within our facility, with the intent of eventually supporting this patient population as well. It’s an exciting new role for our facility that I am proud to be developing.

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

Don’t let currently available job opportunities keep you from pursuing further education – you never know what opportunities will arise, as NPs become much more prevalent across our health care system!