Alain is the project site lead for the 成人VR视频 Health Centre. He has been instrumental in adding this institution to the partnership and in facilitating their engagement in the research study. Our Project Administrator Anna Adjemian spoke with him about his involvement in the project and why he feels passionate about implementing SBNH and SBNH Leadership at the MUHC.
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Anna Adjemian: Please give us a short background/summary of who you are and what you do professionally.
Alain Biron:听I am the Associate Director of Nursing at the 成人VR视频 Health Centre. I am responsible for clinical practice within the hospital, and also for research, and staffing. I spent seven years as an Assistant to the Director of Quality, then five years as an Associate Director of Nursing. I鈥檝e been associated with 成人VR视频 for a long time. I did my undergrad and my PhD at 成人VR视频, and my Master鈥檚 at l鈥橴niversit茅 de Montr茅al. I also did a fellowship after my PhD on quality improvement. I had the opportunity to study a few organizations across North America that performed well at using data to improve care.
I鈥檝e worked in Montreal all my life. I started at the Jewish General Hospital as a nurse in neurosurgery and cardiac surgery, and worked there for three years. I decided to do my Masters, and I went to community nursing and worked in a CLSC for a number of years. My first job after I completed my Masters was as an infection control nurse. I did that for one year, then went back to the CLSC and worked an interim position in management. Then I went to teaching. Teaching has been a part of my professional life all along, at the undergraduate and graduate levels at 成人VR视频. In 2009 I completed my PhD, and then I came to work here at the MUHC.
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Why did you get involved with this project?
I came on board at the beginning, during the grant application. I鈥檝e been working very closely with [Co-Investigator] M茅lanie Lavoie-Tremblay for years and years, since 2010, I think. I had never worked with Laurie Gottlieb before.
I work from the question: how do you lead an institution in a Strengths-Based way? I want to influence. There are all kinds of leaders, but there鈥檚 a chance to influence the next generation, to express our vision of leadership. We model. We put words to how we want our leadership to look. This leadership style is people-oriented. You鈥檙e moved to care for people 鈥� the nurses, everybody on the team 鈥� for who they are as an individual, with respect, recognizing their uniqueness. If you don鈥檛 feel valued, your contributions aren鈥檛 valued, if we don鈥檛 work with you to develop as a professional, why would you stay here? A lot of people鈥檚 practice is aligned with the [SBNH] model, and we have to nurture this 鈥� and say yes, go, you鈥檙e doing a good job. You鈥檙e not wrong, you鈥檙e not strange. To legitimize 鈥� not just the approach, but a way of being.
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What does Strengths-Based Nursing and Healthcare mean to you?
It brings back the essence of nursing. It鈥檚 so important, because it gives an identity. In today鈥檚 healthcare you have to be clear about your role within the system, at all levels, whether you鈥檙e in clinical practice or in management. I鈥檓 convinced that SBNH brings us to the core component of who we are and the true impact that we have: the role of a nurse, and the Strengths-Based approach. You believe in people, when you鈥檙e in management, and as you get older your responsibility is to impact the next generation. I think there鈥檚 a perfect fit between SBNH and leadership, and that philosophy of preparing the next generation. And that links, that ripples through this project, because we鈥檙e going to have 24 of our upcoming leaders have the opportunity to develop the skillsets and learn about the philosophy of SBNH. It鈥檚 a core responsibility as a manager to make sure that the person who is going to be replacing you is well prepared.
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What does this project mean to you/what do you hope to see come out of your work on this project?
Lasting effects. People are going to learn things, gain tools, how to approach new situations鈥� that component is the principal outcome that we are expecting of them: to develop the skills and competencies of leaders. But above this, it鈥檚 another step in bringing SBNH into our area, in changing the culture. There is a sense of putting the pieces together that lead you to a vision of where you want to bring the organization. The importance of people 鈥� the value of a human being, the clinician, the nurse 鈥� really all the values [of SBNH], applied systematically, would make a huge difference. If we were to apply [SBNH]听to the letter, it would transform healthcare. I鈥檓 a very pragmatic person, I know it鈥檚 step by step that we will get there, but we need to be active. That鈥檚 why I want to be part of the project.
Applying it to today鈥檚 context, the first word that comes to mind is resilience. The full dimensional values of SBNH will be so important in the recovery phase. We need to be going back to the essence of the person. It鈥檚 not 鈥減ost-COVID鈥� now, but the sense of urgency is not the same, and hopefully it will stay more or less this way. Now how do we cope with this, move into that recovery period? We go back to the fundamentals. How are we going to be supporting our nurses? What are going to be our priorities for the clinical practice? How can SBNH inform this? It helps us deal with the moment, but also plan for the future.
I would like to say thank you to each person for being part of this project. Everybody is so dedicated. Laurie could have retired, but she鈥檚 still at it! The drive she has to do good is incredible.