Gail Donner and Gail Paech – the Gail’s as they refer to themselves – are long-time friends who have weathered the highs and lows of the ever-changing nursing profession, and throughout their careers, have staunchly advocated for better funding support for nursing research and education.
Their motivation for doing so they say is multi-fold. From wanting to alleviate student debt for those entering the profession, to wanting to ensure the best and brightest are able to attend the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, Donner and Paech are unified in their thinking that nurses need to step up and have the means necessary to be the change that helps fund the future of nursing education.
“If someone had told me 62 years ago as a young girl in Winnipeg that I would have had the career I had, I would have said that’s ridiculous, but here I am, and it is thanks in part, to funding support from donors. Now, I want to be the one providing that same support for another young person so that they can accomplish their goals,” says Gail Donner, Professor Emerita and former Dean of Bloomberg Nursing (1999-2001).
During her time as dean, Donner recalls seeing many students struggle to meet the financial requirements of the program at a time when there was insufficient funding to support students.
“I had a young student at risk of leaving the program because they could not afford their final year. I had to call in a favour from a friend who gave money into a fund that allowed this student to complete the program,” says Donner. “Without funding support, we most certainly are at risk of losing future nurses, and we quite frankly need them now more than ever.”
Donner recognizes the efforts the Faculty has made to provide greater funding support to students from equity deserving groups or those who are unable to financially complete a nursing degree, but more support is needed in order for the Faculty to continue to retain these bright students who are the future of the nursing profession.
Together Donner and Paech the former CEO of AMS Healthcare, have worked to establish a new fund geared towards supporting the education of nurses across all degree programs at Bloomberg Nursing, a fund that they both say asks nurses to step up to the plate and give back.
The Educating Nursing’s Future Fund encourages Bloomberg Nursing alumni to showcase their support for the future of the nursing profession and help bolster the funds available to prospective and current nursing students ensuring they have access to a barrier-free education without the additional stress posed by financial burdens.
The fund recognizes that many students who pursue a degree at Bloomberg Nursing have financial responsibilities that inhibit them from participating in academic life to its fullest, or potentially prevent them from completing the program at all.
This is a serious problem that both Donner and Paech say should not be happening when we need nurses more than ever to support an aging society and to keep our health care system from collapse.
“The value of this initiative is that it enables a past graduate of Bloomberg Nursing, to make a contribution in a way that recognizes how the Faculty has contributed to their career. It doesn’t matter if you only practiced as a nurse for five years, the program instilled in you a set of values and beliefs that have been instrumental in your life, and there is no better way to say thank you then by contributing to this fund,” says Paech.
Giving back and a philanthropic mindset is something that Paech says has been ingrained in her since childhood and is a philosophy that she has passed on to her own children.
“There was a time when women and nurses, didn’t have a say over their finances let alone where their charitable donations went, but the dynamics of society have shifted and now nurses have so many opportunities available to them, well beyond what was possible 20 years ago,” says Paech. “We should be aiming to lift up our future generation of nurses and minimize their debt by supporting their education.”
Paech shares that she was privileged to graduate from nursing school without debt, and it helped her in her pursuit of an accomplished career. This success instilled in her a passion for funding future nursing-related priorities. As CEO of AMS Healthcare, Paech led by example and created funding opportunities especially for nursing researchers with a focus on the future of artificial intelligence, though she says she had to work hard to convince other stakeholders that this was a worthy endeavour. Now she hopes to use that same determination and passion to convince nursing leaders and alumni of Bloomberg Nursing that the advancement of nursing education is something they need to support.
“Giving even a small donation reinforces one’s ability to advance a cause and make a difference,” says Paech.
By donating and supporting nursing education Donner also believes that this signifies the morality and humanity of the nursing profession, and its foundation as a community.
“A long-time ago there used to be this sense that being a nurse was somehow less than, or less deserving of respect,” says Paech. “Both Gail and I made it our goal, to always say we were nurses, and to be proud of what that meant. Once a nurse always a nurse.”
“It’s not just about fundraising it is ultimately about support,” adds Donner. “This is the most tangible way we can say that we care about the work of our nurses, and recognize the importance of the nursing profession. We know what it takes to be a nurse.”
Support the Educating Nursing’s Future Fund, by visiting our donation page or email Nicole Landa, Senior Development Officer at nicole.landa@utoronto.ca.