Monica was one of the first three nurse practitioners (NP) hired at Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC) approximately 25 years ago. She was instrumental in defining the role of an NP first under the auspices of medical directives and now practices to full scope on a casual part-time basis within an interdisciplinary cardiac team. Monica demonstrates advanced expertise in assessment, judgment and decision making in managing men and women with various co-morbid conditions (e.g., diabetes) undergoing cardiac surgery. She has led inter/intra-professional teams and developed strategies (e.g., Elder Friendly pre-printed order sets, preoperative/postoperative education programs) to meet the needs of patients and families. Monica has received several awards from the KHSC to recognize her commitment and dedication to improve the accessibility, safety and quality of health care for patients and their families. Monica also developed the first in-hospital peer support program at the KHSC and was instrumental in securing a role for patient partners on the cardiac program accreditation team.
Monica is one of few PhD-prepared nurse practitioners with advanced specialty certification in cardiovascular nursing from the Canadian Nurses Association (2006- current). She has been the Eastern Ontario representative for the Nurse Practitioner Association of Ontario (NPAO) and has received the peer-nominated Pfizer Award for Clinical Excellence in Cardiovascular Health from NPAO. Monica has provided consultative feedback to the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) and the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO) on prescribing controlled drugs and substances and assisted to develop recommendations for NP scope of practice to the Health Professions Regulatory Advisory Council (HRPAC). Most recently she shared her clinical expertise with the Global Cardiovascular Nursing Leadership Forum by delivering a presentation on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Management and Prevention – A Global Nursing Imperative and with the University of Toronto Centre for the Study of Pain through an interdisciplinary Alumnae webinar on Managing Pain. She offers advice to integrate a sex and gender lens to clinical issues important to nurses, nurse practitioners and patients/families (e.g., Familial Hypercholesterolemia: What you Need to Know) and has shared her expertise on consultation and collaboration in a published Chapter in the Candian Perspective on Advanced Practice Nursing (First Edition 2016, Second Edition 2020), Toronto: Canadian Scholars, ISBN: 978-1-77338-217-3.