July 12, 2023
St. Boniface Hospital nurse Melannie Teitsma knew she wanted to share her good fortune after she received one of three Wyrzykowski Family Graduate Nurse Awards this year.
She turned around and donated $2,500 of it to Selah Place, a Christian charity in her community that offers support to new and expecting mothers who are leaving Manitoba’s child and family services (CFS) system.
Teitsma, with fellow St. Boniface nurses Allyson Raymundo and Jake Darling, are this year’s lucky recipients of the Wyrzykowski Family Graduate Nurse Awards.
The Wyrzykowski family – longtime and generous supporters of the Hospital – established an endowment fund with St. Boniface Hospital Foundation for graduates employed in their first nursing jobs. A random draw of all eligible graduates hired at the Hospital in 2022 was held during National Nursing Week in May of 2023.
All are recent Bachelor of Nursing program graduates: Raymundo from Université de Saint-Boniface started working at St. Boniface in February 2022; while Teitsma and Darling, both from the University of Manitoba, started their jobs at the Hospital in October and November 2022.
Teitsma is a cardiac nurse on the Specialty Resource Team, which sees her floating between the Cardiac Unit and the Emergency Department to support staffing in those areas.
“I chose to be trained in emergency care also, and my ability to read cardiac rhythms on telemetry strips has been a useful skill,” she explained. “The high-acuity area of the Emergency Department is my favourite place to be. The intense work in the Emergency Department keeps me on my toes,” she said.
Her gift to Selah Place will help provide young mothers in Manitoba with safe, secure housing for themselves and their children. In addition to housing and parenting programs, the charity offers them skills development, education, mentoring, counselling services, and more, according to its website.
“When I was a nursing student, I did a rotation in Pediatrics. I have met a lot of mothers and children in the CFS system,” said Teitsma. “I believe that if Selah Place can help women develop skills such as in parenting, relationships, household management, stress management, and coping, they will do better. It is so sad to me when children are in foster care. If and when it is possible, I think it is better for the mother to stay with them, and hopefully prevent problems later in their lives,” she said.
New nurse inspired by godmother
Allyson Raymundo works in the Internal Medicine Program on the Hospital’s fifth floor. “As more of an acute unit, we get mostly Emergency Department and Intensive Care Unit admissions,” she explained. “We take care of patients in Internal Medicine and handle any active issues until they can either be discharged or moved to a different facility.”
Raymundo’s first idea after winning her Wyrzykowski Family Graduate Nurse Award was to put a dent in her student loans. The universe had other plans, however.
“My 16-year-old car broke down and died the following week,” she said with a laugh. “So, I was able to use some of the money to get myself a new compact SUV (sport utility vehicle).”
As a nurse, she finds fulfillment in getting to know her patients and interactions with them.
“My godmother was a registered nurse. When I was 11, she brought me to the care home where she worked to visit for the day. I just loved the warm and outgoing way she interacted with her patients. Seeing her at work made me want to be a part of something like that, someday,” she said.
Nursing at St. B “a great career”
Jake Darling’s nursing position in the Cardiac Surgery Inpatient Unit, on the fourth floor of the I.H. Asper Institute at the Hospital, was just extended for another year after completing his first term. There, he cares for patients before and after open-heart surgery, minimally invasive surgery, heart valve replacements, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery.
His Wyrzykowski Family Graduate Nurse Award caught Darling by surprise.
“I didn’t know what to say. I was excited! I will use the money to help pay down my student loans. It is always nice to have some extra cash on hand,” he said.
Soon enough, Darling won’t be the only nurse in his family working at St. Boniface.
“My identical twin brother, Gage, is a student finishing his senior practicum in the Emergency Department, as a matter of fact,” he said. “I went through the program first, and he liked the sound of it.”
“I knew that I wanted to work with people, and care for them. Nursing seemed like a great way to do that. I liked how you can pursue totally different avenues within it, and continuously upgrade. It is a great career overall,” he added.
Support St. Boniface Hospital nurses like Melannie Teitsma, Allyson Raymundo, Jake Darling, and (soon) Gage Darling. Give today.