Denise Ouellette – Health Sciences Award 2025

Clinical Manager, Palliative Care, Interprofessional Resource Team Staffing Office, and Patient Access and Flow – Unity Health Toronto
Registered Nursing, 1998

“I could write a book with all the stories I have from working as a nurse,” said Denise Ouellette, reflecting on nearly 30 years in the field. “Some stories are funny, some are crazy—but it’s all part of being a nurse. I’m so thankful I’ve had the privilege of being a nurse because that’s what I feel nursing really is: a privilege.”

One of Ouellette’s areas of expertise is neuroscience. Yet, there was an element of chance in her specialization in this field. “How I landed in neuroscience is exactly the type of thing that makes me think about writing a book,” she said. “During my last semester in college, I was asked to list the fields I’d like to work in by order of preference. Neuroscience was nowhere near the top of that list. It just seemed so daunting! But I had great clinical instructors at Algonquin College. They knew what I was capable of. They knew I would grow when I stepped out of my comfort zone.”

“So, they placed me in a neurosurgical preceptorship,” Ouellette continued. “It was an inpatient unit at the Ottawa Hospital. At first, I was anxious. I’ll never forget my first month there. I lost 8 lbs due to stress. Thankfully, I had a wonderful preceptor. She took me under her wing and helped me form great relationships with my colleagues. I managed to keep my patients healthy and was offered a permanent job in that unit after my preceptorship.”

After graduating from Algonquin College in 1998, Ouellette stayed in that inpatient unit for five years. In 2003, she switched teams at the Ottawa Hospital and joined the intensive care unit (ICU). It was a welcome move. Unlike inpatient care, where Ouellette had to constantly multitask caring for several patients at once, ICU was in many ways more straightforward as she now only had to care for one patient at a time. She knew each patient’s whole story. And this suited her better at that point.

But ICU can also be a high-stress environment. In fact, some of Ouellette’s most intense stories come from her years in ICU. “I once cared for a woman experiencing severe multi-organ failure,” she said. “She was relatively young, and her husband loved her very much. We did everything we could for her, but her health kept getting worse. Ultimately, there was nothing else we could do. Her doctors had to withdraw her care and let nature take its course. When they stopped her care, her vital signs crashed. Startled, her husband came into the room, saw the monitor, and lunged at me.”

Ouellette broke free and ran away. She hid in a different room and called hospital security, who quickly intervened. “The patient’s husband calmed down and we made peace,” she added. “I was never upset with him. As an ICU nurse, you develop a level of emotional intelligence that allows you to empathize with people. I went from fearing for my life to sitting with the man at the side of his wife’s bed. We sat together for hours that night. When morning came, she passed away peacefully, and he felt a sense of closure.”

These early experiences in neurosurgery and intensive care were foundational for Ouellette’s career. When she moved to Toronto in 2010, she was hired as a neurosurgery ICU nurse at St. Michael’s Hospital (now part of Unity Health Toronto). After joining St. Michael’s, Ouellette became a neurosurgery educator and specialist, received a Clinical Excellence and Leadership Award and a Corporate Healthy Work Environment Award, contributed to a medical-surgical nursing textbook multiple times, and collaborated with peers across Ontario as a member of the Neurosurgical Educator and Outreach Network (NEON).

Ouellette’s career took off after her move to Toronto, but a workplace injury gave her pause. Bedside work was physically demanding. She had been doing it for nearly two decades by that point. Considering her long-term wellbeing, Ouellette obtained a master’s degree and pivoted her career to healthcare administration, where she could apply her experience and knowledge in a less physically strenuous role. In 2021, she became the manager of Michael Garron Hospital’s nursing resource team.

Three years later, Ouellette flew from Toronto to Newfoundland to stay with her father-in-law and give him end-of-life care. He lived far away from palliative care units, so she felt she needed to go there and support him. After her father-in-law passed away, Ouellette had found her new calling. She returned to Unity Health Toronto as Patient Care Manager, a position she occupies to this day. Her responsibilities include overseeing palliative care. “I’m a few years away from retiring, so it’s a little ironic that I’m ending my nursing career in palliative care,” she said. “But I’m loving this work.”

Thinking back on her teenage years, Ouellette remembers that she didn’t know what she wanted to do. Someone suggested the Registered Nursing program at Algonquin College, she liked the idea, applied, and got in. Now, three decades and a meaningful nursing career later, she is glad she followed her friend’s advice.

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