We are IH: Nurse educator fosters equitable access to education
Name: Echo Porlier (she/her/hers)
Job Title: Rural Nurse Educator
Length of Service: 20 years
Worksite: Nicola Valley Hospital
Community: Thompson Cariboo region
Ancestral Territory: Secwépemc/Shuswap Interior Salish
Favourite Quote / Advice to Live By: "A good education can change anyone. A good teacher can change everything." —Dr. Sudhir S. Balerao
A self-described old soul, Echo Porlier enjoys the fundamentals of living: gardening, canning, preserving and reading. “I like to read physical books you can touch, smell and crinkle the corner to save your page!”
She says these hobbies and tasks keep her grounded in her roots and provide an antidote to her varied and busy professional life as a rural nurse educator in Interior Health (IH).
Inspired by her mom Diana Heighes’s nursing trajectory and her dedication and her ability to connect with patients, Echo pursued a similar path that allowed her to blend two of her passions: teaching and health care.
Learn more about Echo’s journey with IH
Born in Kamloops and raised in Chase, Echo started her career in a small rural site where she was able to optimize her scope of practice and work autonomously with other health-care professionals.
“I enjoy the process of engaging learners in the sometimes-mundane daily skills to the more advanced practice skills needed to support trauma patients,” says Echo. “My role encompasses acute care and emergency medicine, all in a rural and remote context.”
Echo’s work takes her to many sites across the Thompson Cariboo region, where she provides in-person education to health-care providers on a variety of topics.
Rural nursing is a complex practice area that covers acute care, community practice, public health, and emergency and primary care. As a registered nurse (RN) in these communities, you’re often a skilled practitioner in many fields. I’m grateful to provide education in-person to these sites, which are often hours away from a higher level of care. It’s important to me to ensure equitable access to education.
There’s never a typical day in her job, she says. “I anticipate the unexpected. Sometimes site support is needed urgently, whether it be in-person, virtual or via telephone.
“Navigating the IH intranet and pertinent resources is key to my role, as well as troubleshooting and critical thinking. The remaining portion of my role is supporting education for staff that includes courses such as Basic Life Support, Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Neonatal Resuscitation Program, Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale, Nurse in Charge, IH initiatives and rollouts, to name a few.”
Throughout her 20-year career at IH, Echo recalls memorable moments working at Royal Inland Hospital alongside her mom and her childhood friends. Another highlight—later in her career as a rural nurse educator in Chase—was working with her mentor, who also happened to be her mom’s high school friend.
“I have felt very interconnected with those who come to work everyday in health care and our close cohort,” she says.
For Echo, this interconnection permeates other aspects of her work, including reconciliation and inclusion.
“Reconciliation to me means fostering education that is accessible to everyone in the health-care field. This includes those in other sectors and health authorities. Any education that I provide is available to everyone. I often have health-care providers from First Nations Health Authority, agencies or Northern Health attend educational events. Reconciliation is restoring those collegial relationships that allow us to facilitate resource sharing.”
She continues. “Inclusion and belonging mean that I am among a team of individuals from all areas of IH, and all sectors of the health-care field, working together to fulfill the collective goal of providing the best patient care possible. We strive to make sure that those around us are cared for, respected and encouraged, regardless of the site or care area we are in.”
Ever the student, Echo continues to pursue learning and growth. This past year she helped restart her local Canadian Vascular Access Association (CVAA) chapter, donating her time as an executive member. Echo has been recognized with a CVAA/BD Excellence in Vascular Access Management & Infusion Therapy Award.
Outside of work, she enjoys gathering morels and huckleberries. She also likes to boat, hike, camp and fish and venture into the back roads of B.C. with her family. “Most of my time is spent driving my three children to their activities and cheering them on,” she adds.
She encourages everyone to remember to live in the moment and savour their own life story. “Enjoy all the chapters of the book you are writing! And remember, you can turn the page when you need to. This is my philosophy.”
Explore rural nurse Careers@IH
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