Heather Hartley, Nursing Research Interest Group Award

Heather Hartley completed her undergraduate nursing degree at McMaster University. In her clinical practice at Hamilton General Hospital, she was exposed to the destabilizing effects that unexpected patient deaths had on members of the interprofessional team. In response, she initiated a research project, developing a technical report designed to guide staff in situations of death and organ recovery. This research lead her to pursue a Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Ottawa where she is exploring interdisciplinary narratives of caring for patients that die intraoperatively. Her work brings attention to this unexplored practice phenomenon and the live experiences of clinicians embedded in perioperative culture.