From the bedside to the boardroom, the goal is to make a difference
You could say that Monika Warren joined the family business. Her mom was a nurse, three aunts were nurses, and her daughter is a nurse as well.
She caught the bug when she was 10, or maybe 12. “I remember tagging along with my aunt for her shift in an intensive care unit. They allowed that years ago,” says Warren. “I remember the sounds of the machines humming and beeping. I was struck by how the nurses moved about calmly. They were all professional, responding to alarms and fielding questions from anxious loved ones.”
Those first impressions of nurses in action stuck with her.
“I was hooked,” says Warren. “I thought, wow, this is what I want to do one day. I want to help people get better.”
With that seed planted, Warren went on to get her nursing degree from the University of Manitoba and took a job with a new bone marrow transplant unit at Health Sciences Centre. It was a deeply meaningful professional experience for her, one that validated her decision to become a nurse.
“It was one of the most positive interprofessional team environments I’ve ever been a part of,” she says. “But it was my experiences with the patients and their families that left the deepest mark. I worked with people when they were at their most vulnerable and reflective. I remember one patient who ran a fishing lodge in northern Manitoba. He was probably in his mid-fifties and getting ready to retire when his illness struck. He looked at me and said, ‘You’re young. Whatever you do, don’t wait until you’re my age to do the things that matter to you.’ That experience continues to have a significant impact on me professionally and personally.”
After 13 years at the bedside in the unit, and with young children at home, Warren seized the opportunity to fill a new administrative position leading the unit’s accreditation process and developing educational materials for patients. It was a new challenge and a chance to improve care beyond individual patients. When that term ended, she accepted an opportunity with the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to develop patient flow tools and resources to help nurses better plan for a patient’s care and discharge.
She took on larger leadership roles, including managing the oncology unit at Grace Hospital as well as the Grace Hospice. Today, she serves as HSC’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nursing Officer at Shared Health. She is also a proud member of the HSC Foundation Board of Directors. While the administrative and managerial demands are significant, she still finds the time to occasionally don her scrubs and shadow nurses and doctors on their shifts.
“There is nothing better than helping someone on their journey, helping them get better,” says Warren. “In my current roles I try to do that at a system level, but I still like to be a part of what happens at the bedside.”
During this National Nursing Week, Warren reflects on her beloved profession—one that still defines her. And she pays tribute to the nurses of Manitoba.
“Patients’ needs are more acute and the pace of work and change is faster than ever before. But the principles remain the same. Nurses provide expert care with compassion and focus,” says Warren. “Manitobans can count on nurses.”
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).
