A Masters of Nursing student from Germany, she came to SRCHC to discover what community healthcare can look like when people are at the centre of their own care.
What first drew you to SRCHC, and what did you hope to discover here?
I’m doing my Masters of Nursing in Germany and I work at the Bosch Health Campus. My passion is community health nursing. Germany doesn’t have community health centres or community health nurses in the same way, so I wanted to come somewhere where this work is established.
A colleague who had visited SRCHC recommended that I apply for my practicum here. I wanted to understand how nurses work with people in the community and how that compares with the hospital setting I already know.
Was there a moment at SRCHC that changed how you think about healthcare?
There were so many moments. What really changed my view was seeing how much the clients are involved in every decision about their care.
I saw clients taking an active role, with nurses supporting them and respecting the choices they made. In a hospital, we can often think, We know what is best for this person. Here, people have a say in how they want to be cared for, and the nurses really listen and work with them.
It feels less directional and more like a relationship — both sides working together toward a goal. I think that is beautiful.
What did you learn by being out in the community that you couldn’t have learned in a classroom?
My first day was eye-opening. I went with SRCHC nurses to a park for outreach, and people started telling us their stories — what had happened in their lives and what had led them to where they were.
I learned how quickly things can happen and how easily circumstances can become difficult.
I came to understand what it really means to meet people where they are — to go to them rather than waiting for them to find their way to healthcare, especially when homelessness, transportation, stigma, or a complicated system can make that difficult.
What are you taking home with you from your time at SRCHC?
A lot. I don’t think I can narrow it down to one thing.
I’m taking home the importance of building trust and relationships. You have to take the time. You can’t expect someone to share everything in the first meeting, especially when you’re talking about sensitive things.
I’m also taking home a deeper respect for people’s right to decide for themselves — even when they might choose something different from what I would choose.
What would you hope healthcare feels like over the next 50 years?
Whether in Canada or Germany, I hope people who are too often left at the margins feel that healthcare is for them, too.
I hope they feel respected. I hope they feel listened to. And I hope they feel they don’t have to change who they are to receive care.
People come back to SRCHC because their needs are being met in a way that is respectful, compassionate and meets them where they are.
That is the kind of healthcare I want to help build — and the future I want to dream forward.