Meet Anne
Anne is a Nurse Practitioner with Pediatric Neurology at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. She is part of the inpatient Neurocritical Care Service and also sees patients in the Neurology Clinic.
The neurocritical care service provides assessment and guidance for patients in the Stollery intensive care units (NICU, PICU, PCICU) where there is a concern about their brain or nervous system. Many of those children will have follow-up with Anne in the outpatient neurology clinic, where she also has a focus on patients with migraine or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
One of the most rewarding aspects of her role working with patients and families is to get kids back to doing things that they want to do and to feel better while doing it. This can be different for every patient, and part of Anne’s job is meeting each patient where they are in their journey and helping them on the path forward.
When Anne’s not working, she can often be found mountain biking — she has many different bikes! She loves being able to hop onto Edmonton’s trail network just minutes from her front door, but she also loves to plan trips around riding. If she were to pick a favourite biking spot in Alberta, it would have to be Cypress Hills. She was also long time women’s field lacrosse, and she keeps her stick skills active playing in the Edmonton Master’s Box Lacrosse League.
Let’s learn more about Anne:
What do you like most about your job?
I appreciate the different challenges and complexity of the inpatient and outpatient populations. Connecting with patients and families and doing my best to support them in challenging circumstances is a really rewarding aspect of my job.
What makes you most proud of the work you do?
I really focus on establishing a therapeutic relationship with my patients and seeing them from a holistic perspective. Determining treatment strategies that make sense for them and who they are is essential. That is the foundation of moving forward.
Do you have a standout Stollery memory?
One recent memory that comes to mind is when I was meeting a patient for the first time who had longstanding health concerns. We went through their symptom history and, in my usual fashion, I requested more information about this complex history. Part way through, the patient looked at me and said, “I believe you really want to help me” and that they had hope for the first time in a long time. That was really powerful for me.
Have donor funds impacted the area you work in?
To provide further diagnostic information, the Stollery has an autonomic nervous system (ANS) testing lab that is supported in large part through the generous contributions of the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Do you have a favourite Stollery event?
I have volunteered at the Neurosurgery Kids Fund Camp Everest for four or five years. It’s just awesome to have a chance to get to know the kids, be silly and have fun outside of a medical environment.
What is your favourite kid’s book?
I was a ravenous reader as a child but would have to say anything by Robert Munsch, Roald Dahl, Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary — some classics there.
Thanks to your support, Stollerific staff like Anne are making a life-changing difference for the kids and families who rely on neurological care at the Stollery. You can continue to have an impact on programs, equipment, research and training that support specialized care by donating today.
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