Susan Ferri has been an RN for close to 40 years. She has worked in acute care and for more than 20 years as a clinical nursing instructor. Susan promotes active membership in RNAO to her nursing students and encourages and enables them to be involved with RNAO. An example of this is her facilitation of student participation in a Nursing Students of Ontario (NSO) event on Nov. 14, 2023: #HealthcareForAll: Achieving equitable and inclusive health care in Canada. By encouraging students to be involved with RNAO, Susan is helping them gain valuable knowledge and make connections within the nursing community. Susan promotes the use of best practice guidelines (BPG) with her students and emphasizes the importance of BPGs in everyday nursing practice to ensure the best possible outcomes for clients. She involves her students in advocacy initiatives and provides them with the foundation that they need to strengthen their advocacy skills as they progress through their undergraduate education. In her work with equity deserving groups at the student-run health clinic, Susan ensures students have the foundational knowledge to provide inclusive, culturally sensitive care to newcomers to Canada.
The Leadership Award in Nursing Education (Academic) is awarded to the RN or NP who practises excellence as a nursing educator in a college or university setting. This individual enhances the image of nursing by encouraging critical thinking, innovation and debate about important nursing issues, and acts as a role model and mentor in their work environment.
