Leanne Yule helps patients in HSC Winnipeg’s Gamma Knife program feel supported through every step of care
For nearly two decades, Leanne Yule has built her nursing career around one guiding principle: exceptional care is always a team effort.
As a Clinical Resource Nurse for the Gamma Knife radiosurgery program at HSC Winnipeg, Yule works alongside neurosurgeons, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and fellow nurses to care for patients facing complex neurological diagnoses. Together, the team uses Manitoba’s donor-funded Gamma Knife system—a highly specialized, minimally invasive technology that treats brain tumours and other neurological conditions with remarkable precision.
“It’s a perfect example of an interdisciplinary team working at its finest,” Yule says. “Everyone brings their expertise to the table, and everyone’s opinions matter.”
Since becoming a nurse in 2007, Yule has worked in neurosurgery, emergency departments, and in rural health care before returning to HSC in 2021 for a role that combined her experience with her passion for brain health.
“I’ve always loved everything about the brain,” she says. “Coming back here felt like coming home.”
Today, Yule helps care for patients before, during, and after Gamma Knife treatment. Thanks to the generosity of donors to the HSC Foundation’s Operation Excellence campaign, patients in Manitoba have access to one of the most advanced Gamma Knife systems available—allowing care teams to provide highly precise treatment without open surgery. The donor-funded technology has also improved patient care by offering greater flexibility in how treatments are delivered.
But for Yule, what makes the Gamma Knife program truly special is the people behind it.
Many patients arrive frightened and overwhelmed, and Yule says the team works hard to make difficult days feel a little lighter—offering compassion, reassurance, and even moments of humour when they can.
“We work well together, we trust each other, and we genuinely care about one another,” she says. “Patients can feel that.”
This National Nursing Week, Yule’s story reflects this year’s theme, “The Power of Nurses to Transform Health,” by showcasing the impact nurses have through leadership, innovation, and compassionate patient care. For Yule, transformation happens not only through advanced technology like the Gamma Knife, but through the teamwork and human connection that help patients feel supported every step of the way.
Make a gift in honour of National Nursing Week and help empower nurses to continue leading the future of care. Please make a tribute gift to the HSC Foundation today at hscfoundation.mb.ca or call 204-515-5612 or 1-800-679-8493 (toll-free).
Read the rest of our National Nursing Week 2026 stories here.
By Heather Milne
