SickKids has adopted innovative approaches that mitigate risk to nurse retention and wellbeing. With a mandate to identify and advance evidence-informed, technology interventions to preserving cognitive bandwidth and releasing time to care, four key drivers were developed and reductions in cognitive load and improving nurse satisfaction were realized.
Connie Cameron, RN, MN, Senior Manager, Professional Practice, SickKids
Connie is a Registered Nurse and Senior Manager of Professional Practice & Clinical Extern Program at SickKids and an Adjunct Lecturer in the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. Across 16 years, Connie has held many roles in project and practice leadership. Connie has expertise in quality improvement, patient safety, and professional nursing practice.
Connie graduated from Toronto Metropolitan University, where she completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and the University of Toronto, where she completed her Masters in Nursing, focused on health system leadership and administration. Connie also holds a certificate in Solutions Focused Brief Coaching from the University of Toronto. Connie received the SickKids’ President Award for enabling people and the Grace Evelyn Simpson Reeves Nursing Excellence Award for Nursing Innovation. She has also received the University of Toronto Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing Rising Star Alumni Award.
Bren Cardiff, RN, MN, Chief Nursing Informatics Officer, SickKids
Bren Cardiff is a Registered Nurse with 19 years of health care experience. Specialized as a Nurse Informatician, she has dedicated her career to the study and application of leading practices in technology implementation, optimization, and adoption in Nursing practice, Interprofessional care delivery, patient experience and Clinical Operations. She is currently the CNIO at Sickkids, Project Investigator with the Sickkids Research Institute, Virtual Care Operations Co-Lead, and Chair of the Canadian CNIO Forum.
Experienced in leading large-scale technology implementations, including a recent multi-site Epic Implementation, enterprise-wide Physiological Monitor Implementation and active IV Pump Interoperability implementation. Her practice is grounded in the integration of operational, practice and change readiness activities, and best practices in system design and build, as key enablers of sustained change.
Her recent areas of interest and active research include strategies to relieve nurse fatigue and desensitization to alarm and alerts, and applied AI (Artificial Intelligence) in nursing practice including AI Practice Readiness.