Biography (Selected Portions of Former Career)
Barrister, Solicitor, Registered Nurse
in
Project Management, Education, Consulting & Research
a seasoned medicolegal professional with over 20,000 teaching hours to her credit, a non-practising health lawyer, past hospital Director of CQI/RM/Education with years of hospital leadership experience, hospital and university instructor, past moderator of the Ontario Healthcare Risk Management Network newsgroup, sourcing legal information not legal advice for healthcare facilities, their Boards and their personnel
Educator / Consultant
- Researcher, VON SMILE Program, Hollander Analytical Services
- Data research for evaluation of Seniors Managing Independent Living Easily (SMILE) Program
- Facilitator, Employee and Family Assistance, Human Solutions
- Organizational Health and Employee Wellness
- Chair, Qmentum Accreditation Steering Committee
- Chair, Quality & Risk Management Committee
- Safer Healthcare Now!, Quality Healthcare Network Communities of Practice, CPSI and ISMP Initiatives
- Co-ordinate corporate Patient Safety, Patient Satisfaction, Complaints & Compliments processes
- Required Organizational Practices, Medication Reconciliation, Pandemic Planning, Emergency Measures, etc
- And all other hospital Patient Safety/Accreditation Manager functions
Selected Other Patient Safety/Quality/Risk Management Educator Positions
- Lecturer, ‘So You’re Being Sued’ [Various Hospitals]
- Instructor, ‘Health Care Risk Management’, Bluewater Health, Sarnia (Feb., 2006) [OHA course – see 4th bullet below]
- Instructor, ‘Health Law and Risk Management’, Campbellford Memorial Hospital (Apr., 2005)
- Instructor, ‘Health Care Risk Management’, Ontario Hospital Association (2004 – ), periodic recurrent teaching
- Lecturer, ‘Law, Health, Risk’, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto (Mar., 2003)
- Lecturer, ‘Law, Health, Risk’, Toronto East General Hospital (Sept., 2002)
- Guest Lecturer, ‘Privacy and Confidentiality’, Osgoode Hall Law School (Mar., 2002)
- Lecturer, ‘Health Law and You’, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto (Nov. 2001)
Risk Manager, Department of Quality and Risk, Toronto East General Hospital
- Key member of risk/quality team, in an acute care hospital undergoing change
- Updated hospital policy documents
- Handled all legally sensitive cases
- Presented to staff on various topics, e.g. Documentation
- And all other acute care hospital Risk Manager functions
Director, Risk Management/Continuous Quality Improvement/Education, Runnymede Chronic Care Hospital, following position as Nurse Manager, Hospital-Wide
- Key member of executive advisory team, reporting to the President/C.E.O.
- Designed and implemented global risk management functions B financial, legal, clinical, environmental, etc. B in a complex continuing care facility which was facing demolition and construction
- Removed corporate cultural barriers affecting policy updating
- Promoted a culture of patient safety
- Updated emergency measures
- Managed change effectively in a changing facility
- Liaised with legal counsel, and with community emergency services and education personnel in a variety of services and modalities
- Designed and implemented hospital-wide continuous quality improvement initiatives
- And all other chronic care hospital risk/quality Director functions
Conference Developer
- Reducing the Risk of Hospital Liability
- Reducing Healthcare Wait Times
- Pandemic Planning
- Mental Health Care
- Personal Health Information Protection Act
- Reducing the Risk of Medical Malpractice
- Aboriginal Consultation
University/College Teaching Appointments
Post-Secondary Institutions
- Instructor/Coordinator, School of Health Services Management, Ryerson University
- Instructor/Faculty Advisor, CHSM 418/419, Practicum, School of Health Services Management, Ryerson University
- Advised students on practicum placements with their preceptors, on their choice of topics, some examples of which are:
- Program Development for Internationally Trained Radiologists: A Michener Institute and University Health Network Partnership
- Determination of Factors Contributing to Examination Success for Prior Learning Assessment Candidates
- Becoming Part of the Process: Developing a Guide to Promote Leadership in Registered Nurses
- Feasibility Study of Implementing Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and Computer Radiography System (CR)
- Evaluation Framework for the Replacement of a Laboratory Information System (LIS)
- Advised students on practicum placements with their preceptors, on their choice of topics, some examples of which are:
- Instructor, CHSM326, Law for Health Managers, Ryerson University
- Instructor, CVLT401, Project Management in Health Care
- Instructor, CVNU320, Health Law, Ryerson University
- Instructor, Bar Admission Course, Law Society of Upper Canada (past)
- Instructor, LLIS101, Law, Legislation and Regulation, The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences (past)
- Instructor, Medical Terminology, Centennial College (past)
- Instructor, WMST/CAST/POST 238H, Criminal Justice System, Trent University (past)
Other
- Diverse presentations to various organizations
- Founder-Director of Domain Inc. Founded my own business. Responsible for complete direction and training of approximately 30 part-time, individually contracted instructors teaching courses that I developed. In this capacity, engaged in public education programs and media appearances as noted below. Taught, e.g., through Ontario Government Ministries Affirmative Action Core Group, Correctional Services, Queen’s Park, Universities, Public/High/Private Schools, Hospitals, etc. Included workshops in Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Calgary and other Canadian cities.
Publications
Authored Publications
Toolkit, Published
- Operation Qmentum. (2008). Toronto: St. John’s Rehab Hospital.
Articles Published (Externally Reviewed)
- The Safety Competencies: Operationalizing Domain 1. (2010). Edmonton: Canadian Patient Safety Institute.
- Privacy, Confidentiality, Data. (2001). Toronto: Central East Health Information Partnership.
- ‘The Psychosocial Courtroom: Towards a New Theory of Argumentation’. (1996). Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 11(1), 99.
- ‘Linguistic Analysis of Preconception Contracts: Towards a Model for Canada’. (1995-1996). Health Law Review, 4(2), 26.
Coursebooks, Published
- The Criminal Justice System. (Toronto: CSPI, 2003)
- Law for Health Managers (Toronto: Ryerson U, 2001, annual updates)
- Student Workbook and Study Guide (Toronto: Ryerson U, 2002)
Columns and Articles, Published
- Qmentum Accreditation. (2008). News & Views. St. John’s Rehab Hospital.
- Patient Safety and You. (2007). News & Views. St. John’s Rehab Hospital.
- The Patient Safety Mandate. News & Views. (2006). Cowan Insurance.
- Taming the “Lockbox”. (2006). Cowan Insurance.
- Your Legal Health. (1999) O.C.M.A. (Ontario Case Managers= Association), Column in Quarterly Newsletter, 7(2).
- Mediation Uses and Abuses. (1999) Voices 5(2), 9.
Edited Publications
- Co-editor, Voices, Quarterly Newsletter, FLAC, Canadian Bar Association, Ontario, 1997-1999.
Educational Media Appearances (selected, related to my business)
- (1986). Proceed With Caution. Toronto: Pace Productions. A. Hetherington:
Producer.
Television
- (1982-1985). Information Television, Toronto Today, Take 30, CBC TV News,
That’s Life.
Newspaper Articles Written By Others About My Business
Board Memberships, Affiliations and Committees (selected past & present)
- Law Society of Upper Canada
- College of Nurses of Ontario
- Ontario Healthcare Risk Management Network
- Canadian Policy and Procedure Network
- Registered Nurses Association of Ontario
- Director, North York Women’s Shelter
- Director, Opportunity for Advancement
- Business and Professional Women’s Club
- Women’s Health Club
Computer Skills
- MS Office (Word, Excel, Visio, Access)
- MS Project
- MS Publisher
- WordPerfect
- Email (e.g., MS Outlook)
- Operating Systems (e.g., Windows 2000/2003, XP)
- Search Engines (e.g.,Google, Medline, Quicklaw)
- Browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer)
- Etc.