Welcome to NTF Live

NTFLive is a grassroots approach to building connection amongst nurses. Monthly speaker-facilitated synchronous sessions will be delivered through Zoom, featuring a balanced content that resonates with nursing students, new graduates, direct care nurses, educators, and nursing leaders. The focus of these sessions will be to connect various demographics within the nursing profession to build community and a shared understanding of the challenges faced by the profession.

Upcoming Events

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Previous Events

Pathways to Integration: Empowering internationally educated nurses through mentorship and workplace integration
"Skill Up": Mindset as safety gear for emotionally escalating situations
Trusting Your Gut: Developing Intuition as a Newly Graduated Nurse
Finding Your Fit: Matching Your Nursing Career With Who You Are

More information Coming Soon!

Internationally Educated Nurses Transition to Canada

Calling all internationally educated nurses looking to make a smooth transition to Canada - this event is your ultimate guide!

Are you navigating Canada as an Internationally Educated Nurse (IEN)? Do you work with a nurse new to the country? Despite recent efforts to streamline integration nation-wide, many IENs report that efforts to both qualify and integrate into the unique work-culture and practice setting in Canada remain challenging to navigate alone. Join industry expert Shelly Luhning as she guides us in the journey of succeeding in Canada. Register for Stepping into Canadian Nursing Practice: A Welcome and Guide to Success for Internationally Educated Nurses live on September 3, 2025!

This is your chance to ask a professional nursing educator any question you may have!

As always, this event is FREE and open to newly graduated nurses and nursing students!
Click the image to register.

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Advancing Your Career: Consider Specialty and Advanced Practice Nursing in Canada

Synopsis coming soon!

 

Charting Your Nursing Career Path: Let The Journey Begin

Synopsis coming soon!

 

The Power of 'Association': What the Canadian Nurses Association can do for You

Joining a Profession of 29-million colleagues globally and ½ million nationally! So What?

As a newly graduated and early career nurse, you have started your professional journey as a member of the nursing profession with its history being recorded for more than two millennia. Over the past 300 years, our profession has evolved to demonstrate specific characteristics that include, but are not limited to formal educational requirements, autonomy of practice, adherence to an established a code of ethics for nurses, continuing education and knowledge generation, and a common culture and values present among members.

As a new professional, you must be registered or licensed through your provincial/territorial regulatory body, but you get to choose to join your provincial/ territorial and/or national nursing association and contribute to the future of your profession. This seminar will highlight why it is so important to be active in your profession and how joining the Canadian Nurses Association  (https://www.cna-aiic.ca/en/home) will support your in achieving your career goals and expose you to a national and global network that advocates for nursing and health policy imperatives (e.g., planetary health, nursing workforce optimization), unifies our profession, and supports you at every step of your career! 

FEATURED SPEAKER: Dr. Valerie Grdisa, CEO, of the Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is thrilled to share her early career insights and ‘survival tips for nurses’ and provide an overview of the role of CNA and share brief remarks on CNA’s mandate. Valerie brings over thirty years of diverse experience across public, private, not-for-profit, and senior government roles. She has worked in Alberta and Ontario and served in various capacities in 11 of the 13 provinces and territories, including the federal government. Her RN journey career started in 1991 at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and then she started her NP journey at Stony Brook University in 1998, practicing as an NP serving children and youth, educating NPs and creating both provincial and national NP workforce optimization strategies, before transitioning into executive leadership roles across different parts of the health system (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-valerie-grdisa-60bb7a27/).  CNA looks forward to working collaboratively with the NTF Team in the coming months to ensure CNA supports you and your journey over the decades to come!

Click here to download the PDF
Essential of taking the NCLEX in Canada

Presented by Shelly Luhning RN BScN MN ENC(C) CCNE

With the introduction of the next generation NCLEX (NGN), there are plenty of myths and misconceptions surrounding the NCLEX-RN exam. This webinar is designed specifically for nursing students preparing to take the NCLEX-RN. You'll get an in depth look at the exam's structure, learn how to approach and pass it, and explore the new types of questions featured in the NGN. We'll guide you through the entire process, offering valuable study strategies, tips, and essential exam insights. If you need clarity and support in your NCLEX-RN preparation, this webinar is a must.

When Things go South
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Kirstin Grafstrom was raised in the Shuswap area of BC’s Interior and began her nursing journey in 2019. After completing her BScN at Thompson Rivers University in 2023, Kirstin joined the Abbotsford Regional Hospital ICU as a new graduate RN in a Med-Surg nursing capacity with the intent to consolidate her skills in preparation for a career in critical care.  In September 2023, Kirstin was selected to complete BCIT’s Critical Care Nursing Specialty, completing the program with honours in June 2024. Kirstin has launched a new chapter in her graduate nurse life and looks forward to applying her knowledge as a critical care nurse.

Cameron Webber is a Critical Care Flight Nurse based in Northern Alberta. With a robust background in nursing and a passion for cardiology, Cameron's journey in healthcare began as a Healthcare Aide in the Operating Room and a Nursing Attendant in the Emergency Department prior to pursuing his Bachelor of Nursing degree at the University of Calgary. Graduating in 2014, Cameron honed his skills on the Hematology Oncology Unit at the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, spent three years on the Cardiac Surgery Unit at the Foothills Medical Centre, and in 2018, he ventured into the Canadian Arctic as a Critical Care Flight Nurse in Nunavut. Cameron has been honored with the Air Force Association Medal and a Canadian Armed Forces Certificate of Commendation for his outstanding contributions as a civilian during a mass casualty rescue operation.

Jaime Gallaher is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and serves as the faculty instructional support lead at Thompson Rivers University. With a background in education and emergency nursing spanning 17 years Jaime has held multiple diverse roles in global health nursing, trauma, pediatric emergency, critical care and simulation facilitation. Jaime teaches for the global network of healthcare simulation debriefing experts at The Debriefing Academy and is currently publishing a paper on "emotional debriefing for clinical educators".

Thank you so much for attending our NTFLive Webinar today. The link below will send you to our session evaluation survey, which seeks your feedback on the most recent NTFLive event entitled: When Things Go South: Dealing with Crisis and Chaos as a Newly Graduated Nurse. We value your ideas and thoughts! If you attended this session please complete this survey so we can continue to improve upon our educational events.

Click here for the survey

We hope you will be honest and generous with your thoughts and ideas - all responses are anonymous. Your feedback will help us improve upon our NTFLive sessions!

Many thanks in advance for completing the survey. You will be entered into a draw to receive for Dr. Duchscher's book: From Surviving to Thriving: Navigating the First Year of Professional Nursing Practice.

Nurse It Like You Mean It

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Creating Safe Spaces

Nursing the Future presented a live seminar and panel on creating safe spaces in the workplace, with an emphasis on what that ‘looks like’ for newly graduated nurses! Healthcare and nursing leadership experts Victoria Schmid, CEO of SWITCH BC, Dr. Kimberly Ritchie, Graduate Program Director Trent/Fleming School of Nursing, Madison Hanson, the 2SLGBTQIA+ Caucus Chair and Alisha D’Souza, New Graduate Advocate for the Canadian Nursing Students Association walked us through this important conversation on the challenges faced by newly graduated nurses as they navigate the stress imposed by ‘fitting in’ to the culture of their workplaces. We explored what can be done to support new graduate integration into the workforce, and how we can foster environments where nurses are enabled to create workplaces that embrace and welcome progressive change! This is a fantastic seminar for both new graduates and their supporters, including educators, mentors and leaders. Watch and enjoy!

The Resilient Nurse
One of the greatest gifts professionals in nursing can share with their patients and colleagues is a sense of their own resilience and a healthy perspective. However, they cannot share what they do not have. NTF is privileged to host 3 esteemed scholars who will invite us on a journey of awareness into the secondary stress experienced by nurses in the workplace and their strategies to mitigate this stress. Dr. Robert Wicks who currently resides in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the author of over 60 books with best sellers that include Riding the Dragon, The Resilient Clinician (2ndEd with Mary Beth Werdel), Bounce: Living the Resilient Life (2nd Ed), Night Call: Embracing Compassion and Hope in a Troubled World and Perspective: The Calm within the Storm. Dr. Wicks received the first annual Alumni Award for Excellence in Professional Psychology from Widener University and is the recipient of the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the American Counseling Association’s Division on Spirituality, Ethics and Religious Values. Dr. Gloria Donnelly earned a BSN from Villanova University, an MSN from the University of Pennsylvania with an emphasis in psychiatric nursing, and a Ph.D. in Human Development from Bryn Mawr College. Dr. Donnelly has been the Editor in Chief of Holistic Nursing Practice for the past 45 years, is the author of seven books and the winner of two American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year awards. Dr. Donnelly is Dean and Professor Emerita at the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, Philadelphia (2000-2017) and recently teamed up with Dr. Wicks to co-author the second edition of Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice. This contemporary publication offers insights into how nursing and other health care professionals can extend their presence to others without losing their own inner fire in the process. Lia Sanzone is an Associate Professor at McGill University in Montreal, and Director of both the BScN Nursing Program and the Nursing Peer Mentorship Program. Professor Sanzone developed the Nightingale Fellows Program where graduating students are mentored by workplace clinicians who help them understand the challenges of the workplace and develop strategies of resilience. Since 2021, she has been mentoring clinical partners within institutional transition to practice programs to help them support nurses transitioning to their professional roles with the intent to increase retention.

This NTFLive event will feature discussions on the psychological dangers experienced by nurses in the workplace; the 4 types of friends needed in one’s interpersonal network to navigate life’s stress; suggestions on developing a self-care protocol; insight into the concept of post-traumatic growth; and the and the importance of matching personality style to stress management strategies.
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Optimizing Workplace Mental Health for Nurses
This event took place on January 24th 2024.
Featuring Linda Silas, Rebecca Titus, Dr. Nicholas Carleton, & Dr. Margaret McKinnon
Download PPTX from event
Travel Nursing in Canada with John Tablason
John Tablason is an RN working as a travel nurse throughout Canada, in particular, in Canada’s north. In this session, JT gave us an inside scoop on what travel nursing is, why and how to become a travel nurse, and what the requirements are. With his expertise and knowledge, JT discussed the steps to take to make your travel dreams come true – without forcing you to leave your nursing career or to give up your income.
Watch the presentation
Coping with Stress as a New Graduate with Kym Ali (MSN RN)

In this event, Kym Ali, who’s practice is embedded in ensuring the wellness of nursing personnel, discussed tips and tricks to combating stress and increasing self care while transitioning into nursing practice.

Topics covered:

  • Stress: What it is and what are the physiological effects
  • Planning: Balancing SMART goals, expectations, commitments, sacrifices, and adapting new behaviours
  • Time Management: What do you have in your toolbox? How can you best utilize calendars, personal time blocks, studying, and your work schedule?
  • Mental Wellness: What’s your approach and what are your strategies?
  • Physical Wellness: How are you committing to yourself?
download pptx from event
The Essentials YOU Need to Know About the NCLEX 2.0 with Shelly Luhning (RN BSN MN ENC(C) CCNE)
In part two of our series with NCLEX Education, Shelly Luhning hosted an open Q&A forum regarding the NCLEX-RN. We also reviewed, dissected, and answered NCLEX-style questions, including reviewing rationales for correct and incorrect answers.
download pptx from event
CNA Certification Program with Marie Marques (RN BA MPA)
Marie Marques (RN BA MPA) joined us to discuss the Canadian Nurses’ Association (CNA) certification program. CNA's certification program consists of 22 specialty programs and is nationally recognized as a professional standard. In this CONNECT, we discussed:
 

- What areas of practice you can attain certification in

- Eligibility requirements

- Certification and renewal process

- The importance and benefits of certification

download pptx from event
Everything You Need to Know About the CPNRE 2.0
Dr Chris Beauchamp joins us again for a second go-around on all things CPNRE. Dr Chris Beauchamp has 12 years of CPNRE experiential knowledge, including developing and reviewing questions, settings standards,
developing competencies, and creating the examination blueprint. In this session, we discussed:
 
- What types of questions are on the CPNRE,
- How and when to begin studying, and
- How the CPNRE questions are developed
download pptx from event
NCLEX Success: How do I prepare and How Can UWorld Help?
Thank you to Emily Giddings (MSN, RN, CCRN, CNE), who guided us on a discussion on preparing for the NCLEX-RN. Emily brought her experience as an ICU nurse and nurse educator to this CONNECT session and shared with us her passion for nursing! In this CONNECT session, we reviewed:
 
- The goal of the exam and how the NCSBN decides what to test on the NCLEX,
- Evidence-based methods to preparing for exam success, and
- NCLEX-style questions and the rationales for the correct and incorrect answers
download PPTX from event
Transitioning To Professional Practice
Britney De Palma and Naomi Martin, two third-year BSN students from Thompson Rivers University (Kamloops, BC) discussed issues related to transition from school to the workplace. What does it mean to become a nurse and what is the process like? In this CONNECT, we discussed:
 
- Dr Judy Duchscher’s Transition Shock model and the Stages of Transition theory
- The stages of Transition Shock
- Need to know tips and tricks
- Challenges that may arise for new graduates during their transition to the workplace
download pptx from event
NCLEX RN: The Essentials You Need to Know
This session took a deep dive into the exam itself – how the exam is structured, how to pass, and the types of questions on the exam. Study approaches, strategies, and tips for the exam itself were also shared.

COMPLETED Objectives:

- Reviewed the exam process and blueprint
- Analyzed the types of NCLEX questions
- Discussed tips for taking the NCLEX exam
- Shared NCLEX study strategies

Registration for CONNECT is FREE and limited to students and new graduates. For future CONNECT sessions we welcome all students, newly graduated nurses (<12 months of practice) and recently graduated nurses (1-2 years of practice) to join and share their ideas, concerns, challenges, and successes around transitioning into practice.
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Are You Ready for the CPNRE?
More information Coming Soon.
Nursing The Future™ acknowledges that nurses across this country live, work and play on the lands of our Indigenous Ancestors and we join our members in expressing respectful gratitude for this privilege.
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